Secrets
by Sapphirina
Summary: After the failure of Jinchuu, Yukishiro Enishi is isolated from society inside his mansion. One day, a girl washes onto shore with no one to go back to and out of pity, he takes her in. But in the darkness lie secrets: there are those who want him dead
1. Chapter 1: The Girl Called Mika

**A/N**: Hey, people! This story takes place after he escapes from jail. He may seem a bit out of character but remember he did fail his Jinchuu and that was in a way a big hit for him. So, I'm sorry if it makes you feel mad/sad/disappointed/confused/none of the before. So enjoy.

**A/N-2: **Rereading this story, all I could think was 'um... did I really write this?' It wasn't necessarily bad the first time around. It just could've been better. Then again, this was one of my earlier stories. So I will try to go through and take care of flow issues, grammer issues, plot issues, etc. _1/29/11_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters but I do own this story.

**CHAPTER 1:**

**The Girl Called Mika**

"Tomoe . . . Is this what you wanted? Did you really want that man to live?" Yukishiro Enishi was sitting on the one of the balcony chairs, his black glasses laid forgotten on the table in front of him. After his failure, life consisted of nothing more than watching the waves hit the shore and reflecting on past actions. His 'mistakes' as some people called them. A part of him didn't want to believe that he had been wrong, that he had been trying to carry out a justice that had been overdue for years. Yet...

Enishi stood up and walked over to another part of the balcony. In the east, beyond the slight fog, was the coasts of Shanghai. He didn't like the idea of being so close to the mafia he had once participated in. He wanted to be alone for a while to just think. But with the Japanese police on his tail, this mansion - one of several - was the best choice. It was the smallest mansion that he owned but the island on whish he was one was deserted. Plus very few people knew about it. The island had lots of tall trees and some cliffs. The mansion could easily hide amongst the trees and cliffs and go unnoticed.

He was just about to turn around when he spotted someone barely swimming toward the shore. It was the last thing he needed right now: someone to know that he was here. Watching the person wading their way through knee-high waters, he concluded that this person hardly had any strength left. Maybe they had been shipwrecked far into the sea and had swam all the way here. Or even, this could be some elaborate scheme set up by the police to lure him out. But that would be giving them more credit than they deserved. After all, he had escaped from them without much hinderance. Still he reached for his sheathed sword leaning against the balcony railing.

Enishi clutched his sword tightly as he made his way outside. He approached the body cautiously, not sure if there were other people hidden in the bushes and trees. It wasn't that he couldn't handle them; he just didn't like being surprised in the state he was in.

He was several feet away when he could get a good look at the person. It was a woman, wearing a wet kimono clinging to her her small body. Her shoes were missing but he supposed that was almost expected. Her chest heaved with each heavy breath, no doubt a result from swimming for her life.

The man walked closer to the body and knelt down beside the girl. He gently removed her light brown hair away from her face to see it better. It had a peaceful and innocent look on it as the woman laid unconscious on the sand, passed out from exhaustion. She looked about twenty years old to him, an age not often associated with innocence. It was strange seeing someone so pure after all those years of revenge and hate that were often reflected in his cold eyes.

Enishi picked up the young lady in his arms. He made up his mind not to kill her yet and wait to see how this would play out to his advantage. If she turned out to be important and could be used for ransom, it wouldn't be long before he could enter the black market again. She would be his pawn if she didn't have her own plans first.

* * *

Dark blue eyes opened when the sun began to come in through the window. The light was in her eyes as the curtains were still being drawn apart. The sun was still in her face but she was able to see someone drawing them apart slowly. The curtains stopped moving and swayed a little from where it hanged.

She saw a man walked away from the curtains and sat on the chair in the corner of the room. And her eyes were met by his, noticing how they were trying to see through her. It made her feel uncomfortable and she immediately broke the gaze. But not before she noticed the fine muscles that were chiseled onto his arm and chest.

It was then she took a moment to notice herself. She saw she wasn't in her blue kimono anymore. Instead, she was wearing a white robe which reached her knees. The girl had this feeling that the man examining her had changed her clothes.

She clutched the robe to conceal her chest, not knowing what to think of the man in front of her. "...Did you... change me?"

Enishi raised an eyebrow in surprised. He had expected a more demanding voice, one that possibly sounded angry but it was quiet and held a distinct uncertainty to it. She looked like the kind of woman who he could take advantage of. He smirked silently at the thought. "Yeah, I did."

She looked up and glared at him. "I don't know who you think you are but you have no business to be changing my clothes." She didn't yell at him; she said it calmly but it still held an icy tone to it. It was a huge mood swing from only seconds before.

Enishi's smirked turned into a grin. "Yukishiro Enishi. What's yours?"

It took her a while to get what he was saying since the topic changed so quickly to something else. He wasn't challenging her to snap back but seemed more amused about her reactions. She narrowed her eyes in warning. "Mika."

The grin left his face. _The woman has finally found her voice_, Enishi thought. He had suddenly lost all the urge to mess with her mind. He then stood up and headed toward the door to leave the room. He opened the door but didn't walk out yet. Instead he gave Mika a bored look. "Mika, I'll see you at breakfast." With that, he walked out of the room.

Mika sat on the bed for a while, thinking about the silver-haired man. He didn't seem to be taking her seriously. Yukishiro Enishi was taunting her even though his eyes were still cold and menacing. She could pretend she wasn't scared but those turquoise eyes would just pierce through her like before. Even so, those eyes made him attractive.

She knew lust was a dangerous game to play especially if you were one who could never stop playing. She also knew she wasn't here for lust but for some other ordeal that needed to be taken care of. Mika placed temptation in the back of her mind while she got her priorities straighten out. Lust and sex second, revenge and murder first.

**A/N**: Thanks for reading. So review and tell me any mistakes or grammar things you notice. Oh, and do any of you know the name of Enishi's sword?


	2. Chapter 2: Opposing Forces

**A/N**: I hope this chapter's good. I've already started the third one so stick with me and review. So here it is!

**CHAPTER 2:**

**Opposing Forces**

Mika was in a room located on the bottom level of the mansion. It reminded her vaguely of a dojo room with the wooden floors and walls with the bottom half wooden, the top half with Japanese style wallpaper. The room was pretty empty for the most part. The only decor was the numerous swords. The swords were perched on one of the walls ranging from short to long, varying in designs, and differing in blade shapes. She had chosen one of the swords and began to practice with it. It was heavier than what she was used to but she still managed to get proper swings with it.

Outside, a storm had already began. She could hear the rain hitting the window pane harder than before and the roaring winds roaring outside. Thunder boomed and she flinched. She usually didn't mind thunderstorms but today's sounded so much louder than what she was used to. The door opened and Mika turned around.

Enishi stopped in the doorway and cast a stare in her direction. Since he had just finished taking a shower, he had a towel on his wet hair and didn't bother to put a shirt on. But he did have on his orange pants, the ones with the blue stripes on the sides. And his black glasses was on the usual position on his nose.

He walked in, Mika's eyes following him until he sat down against the wall behind her. "Continue what you were doing," he told her, "I'm just here to watch." He finished drying his hair and dropped the towel beside him. Enishi noticed that she hadn't move but was giving dirty looks. He narrowed his eyes at her in return. "Well, you were practicing, right?"

She grumbled something as she began to swing the sword as she did before only less sharp. Each time she swung the katana, she took a step forward inching slowly away from Enishi. Still, she could feel his eyes watching everything she was doing which it was something she wasn't comfortable with.

"Your momentum's off," Enishi commented as he watched her, "And your swings are too predictable. Anyone can figure out whether you're going left or right."

Mika flinched and sighed out of annoyance. "Yukishiro, I know." This time her swing came out a lot sharper as an image of killing him on the spot popped into her head. She felt good about that one and continued with a bit more confidence.

Enishi raised an eyebrow. "That swing... it wasn't good at all."

The katana ended up being thrown towards Enishi. It pierced the wall by the side of his head, scraping his cheek lightly. Where it had grazed, a thin line of blood appeared on his skin .

Mika turned around and headed out the door. "You know what? You can stay here. I'm leaving." She couldn't take criticism because every remark seemed snide in some way. She headed for the door, ignoring Enishi on her way out. But the man wouldn't let her get away so easily. Enishi got up and pulled the sword out of the wall. Then he approached her from behind, the sword at ready. Just as she was about to turn around, he moved in faster so she couldn't retaliate in time. He stopped her in her tracks, the blade at her throat.

She didn't try to move- she was too shock to. He pressed the cold metal of the sword against her neck and the uneasy feeling spread throughout her body. What was this? Was this his way of threatening her?

Enishi sighed, pulling the sword away from her and tossing it to the other side of the room. His turquoise eyes went back on to her. He noticed how her chest was heaving up and down as if she hadn't been breathing. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she muttered. She heard him starting to walk off but didn't want him to leave yet. "Yukishiro," he stopped and looked back, "I can't say that I know anything about you." It was the only reason for him to stay and talked to her. She decided it would be reasonable enough for him to remain there in the room. Even though she wanted his company, she was still trying to fight off that feeling she got from him. Like he could turn on her any minute if he wanted to.

"I can say the same about you." Enishi knew there was a lot of truth behind that. She had been there only a few days but it was no excuse that he didn't know anything except her first name. She wasn't exactly open with him either. And the only time he saw her was during meals or else she would be in her room.

Enishi sat down where he was before and Mika sat down next to him. The two looked at each other, waiting for the other to start. Then he started, telling her of everything that happened to him especially about the hitokiri battosai and Tomoe.

* * *

"So after you escaped from prison, you came here," she contemplated. Her dark blue eyes focused on Enishi hard as she remained in thought. _Not only has he ruined my life but also others around him_, she thought._ Partly because of his sister Tomoe has been deceased most of his life. And partly because he had no one to trust, no one to give him hope or to even love him. If he had someone who could... no, this is nothing but sympathy. Sympathy for the man you have to kill. _Her eyes went off the man beside her and landed on the window instead. Lightning flashed and the thunder boomed outside as the rain pelted the glass.

"What about you?" Enishi asked her.

A small smile appeared on her face but her eyes carried a different emotion. They had nothing in them but a tinge of sadness and remorse. "There's nothing that I can really say." As she said this, her fingers began to make small circles on the wooden floor.

"Talk about your family then."

"Okay," she quietly said, "if you really want to know. My mom was Chinese and my father was originally from Japan. They only had one child so I had no sisters or brothers to worry about. And life was easy- they were rich so anything that I wanted I would get. Most people get greedy when they're better off than most people. It's human nature. But my parents were never like that. Except some of the people where we lived were corrupted and had illegal dealings.

"Then one day, our house was broken into by them. My father was the only one home at the time. So when they came, he tried to fend them off. A day afterward he succumbed to his wounds and my mother shortly gave up living without him. I was only fifteen at the time." She looked back and stared into his turquoise eyes. He was looking at her so intently. There was something different in his eyes this time around, like he was saying that he understood her to some extent.

"I don't need your pity," she whispered.

Enishi leaned in closer a bit, his eyes boring into hers. "Then don't cry."

At the moment, Mika felt the tears that brimmed her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. She couldn't believe that she was getting emotional over this. It had happened over a few years ago. She needed to be tougher. Despite her thoughts, a lone tear fell and Enishi was quick to wipe it away. Then it thundered in the background.

Her eyes opened wide from temporary surprise how close they were in physical terms. Only mere inches separated their faces while they were slightly transfixed by the other. Mika started to blush and pulled back instantly. Then she stood up and headed towards the door. "I'm going to bed. Good night, Yukishiro." She closed the door behind her rather fast and leaned against it, her heart pounding against her chest._ I'm such an idiot. What was I thinking in there? You've trained in the last four years to be an assassin. Don't let him get to-_

The door opened and she fell backwards into the room, landing on her butt. Enishi looked down at her and cocked an eyebrow. After a second or two, he walked around her and went down the hallway to his room. "Weren't you going to bed?" He called out to her.

Mika glared at him from behind as she got up on her feet. She made up her mind that this was the last time she would talk to him.

* * *

A ship slowly appeared on the horizon, in front of the sun, as it approached the tiny island. Its huge white sails stood out against the crimson red as it came more into view. Its craftsmanship was amazing- every design and detail was distinct and could easily be distinguished by the ones around it. Enishi had seen the ship while he was practicing on the beach with his Tachi and the man in charge of it, Zhou Lei Fang.

**A/N**: Yeah, that was it. A bit longer than the first one. I wonder what Lei wants... Thanks, Deadly Diva for reviewing. Till next time.


	3. Chapter 3: His Reason Versus Hers

**A/N**: I'm still working on putting in action in this fanfic. Unfortunately, I believe that will have to come in later chapters. But still try to stick with me. I"ve notice that I got hits for this story for the last two chapters but no reviews. So I would really appreciate it if the people who might actually read this story, please send a review. Reviews help writers improve and become a better author.

**CHAPTER 3**:

**His Reason Versus Hers**

Mika was outside on the balcony when Enishi came up the balcony stairs. She knew he had been out around back, practicing his swordmanship. She was going to remark on this but then she noticed, not too far behind Enishi, was another man with two bodyguards. Her eyebrows furrowed together. Instantly she was suspicious about why they were here and how did they know where to find Enishi. Pretending she hadn't noticed, she turned back around and looked out to sea.

Enishi reached the top of the stairs and saw Mika there. She was acing like she hadn't seen him. "Woman," he said, unwilling to call her by her first name, "We have company."

She turned around with a cold look in her eyes before turning around to see something else. "That's nice," she responded monotonously, "Tell them I say hi." Mika decided it would be best to ignore them like she was planning to do to Enishi.

Lei cast a side glance at Enishi. He could tell that Enishi was mad at the girl's insolent behavior. It was that obvious to him as he watched Enishi refraining from doing whatever he had in mind. After analyzing Enishi's face, he looked at the girl. "Yukishiro," he spoke, examining the rude female, "You really have an interesting taste in women. It's clear you wanted the most feisty."

Mika faced the man and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not his woman. And besides, who are you anyway?"

"Lei Fang," he answered. "And you are?"

"Mika."

Lei raised an eyebrow. "It's common courtesy to give your full name."

"I didn't bother giving my full name to Yukishiro. So why should I give it to you?"

Now he had both eyebrows raised, surprised to hear the 'inferior' girl before him giving him back chat. The girl had a lot of nerve talking to a mafia leader like that especially one like himself. Getting control of his anger, he spoke calmly. "Because I'm not Yukishiro. And I don't give a damn what they," he took a glance back toward his thugs, "do to you."

There was a short silence after that as Mika considered the options. "Miyagi Mika." She answered him rather annoyed but it didn't matter- he got what he needed and that was her name. Mika on the other hand felt like an idiot for telling him who she was.

_So that's her name, _Enishi thought. _Miyagi Mika... I still don't know enough about you. _Turquoise eyes met dark blue ones. "Miyagi," Enishi mockingly said, "You can go. We have no need for you here." He was surprised that she obliged without a fight or argument about it.

"I don't like her," Lei commented after she went inside. "She can't keep her mouth shut like a good woman should." He took a seat at the table outside. His thugs stood up behind him quietly, waiting for orders.

Lei looked at Yukishiro. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Yeah," Yukishiro nodded. "I'll go get something." He opened the door and nearly bumped into Mika. To not let Lei see her there, he closed the door behind him quickly.

"He's still there, isn't he?" Mika demanded, waiting for an answer from Enishi. They were supposed to be alone on the island. The arrival of the man was unexpected and could foil her plan to kill Enishi. The longer Lei stayed, the harder it will be to get some 'one-on-one time' with her target.

Enishi nodded. "He might not leave tonight." He saw her twitch slightly even though her thoughts were well concealed. It was obvious she wasn't too keen on the idea but he didn't say anything about it. "I'm going to the wine cellar. Don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, Miyagi." He stopped and thought for a second. "Better yet, go to your room. That way I won't have to worry about your blood all over the floor."

Mika watched him disappear when he turned the corner. She couldn't explain why she had watch him go but she wanted to and that was good enough. It was a physical attraction she had for him and she hated it so badly. To be attracted to the enemy was the worst thing she felt like she could do especially to the man who killed father.

Through the door she picked up fluent Chinese being spoken. She could understand the language very well but the sound was muffled since the door was closed. Pressing her ear against the door, she listened intently to Lei's conversation.

"_When are we going to kill Yukishiro?" _The voice was gruff so Mika assumed it was one of the thugs, probably the biggest one with muscles.

"_When we get to Shanghai." _She heard Lei respond. _"He wouldn't see it coming. He doesn't care about the mafia but he acts arrogant. When he's gone, I can take over his part of the organization as well_._"_

The next voice that spoke belonged to a new person. Maybe the scrawny man because it didn't seem husky or sounded tough in anyway. _"What about the girl?"_ She heard him asked. At this, she raised an eyebrow.

"_Don't worry," _she heard Lei reassure the guy, _"She's not a threat. She doesn't understand Chinese and even if she figured this out, she wouldn't be able to save Yukishiro anyway. But... if she proves to be otherwise, then you have my permission to kill her."_

Mika gritted her teeth. She didn't want anyone else to kill Enishi but herself. Lei was someone who was just getting in her way of get revenge. And this talk about mafia interested her very much. It was something that Enishi forgot to mention in their conversation last night. _Yukishiro's life is mine, _she thought, _and no one else's. I won't let Lei kill him._

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping." Enishi stood behind her, two glasses in one hand and the wine bottle in the other. He had a bored look on his face while he stared at Mika with slightly lifted eyebrows. Then he added, "And I told you to go to your room."

"It's boring there," she replied, standing up to face him. She placed her hands on her hips. "Can't I just go outside and sit next to you or something?" Then she looked back and saw Lei looking at them through the glass part of the door. Without asking, she took the two glasses from Enishi's hand and opened the door. "Let's go."

He glared at her but he figured there was no way to change her mind. Enishi followed her outside and placed the wine bottle on the table. He then lifted over another chair for Mika and brought it next to where he was going to sit. The two sat down next to each other but their eyes remained on Lei.

Lei took one of the glasses and popped opened the bottle. Then he poured some wine into his glass. "The mafia needs you back in Shanghai," he said, beginning to explain the scenario to Enishi. Mentioning the lack of finances, he said how they needed to make money and that they were thinking up some ways. He also mentioned the absolute boss and how he wanted to see Enishi about his part of the organization. In between pauses and thoughts, he took some sips from his red wine. "We'll leave tomorrow to Shanghai," he concluded. "It's not too far from here."

"And what happens to me?" All eyes went to Mika after she asked the question.

Enishi took some more wine to drink as he spoke. "Stay here and await my return."

Blue eyes flickered with a slight anger as she looked out of the corner of her eye at the man next to her. "Yukishiro, it wasn't an option I was giving you when I asked that question."

"Do you think I care?" was the white-haired man's response.

"But I... I want to go with you." Mika wouldn't let Lei kill him. That's how she felt and it was something she would try her hardest to prevent from happening. Her motive for claiming his life was better than Lei's selfishness. "Please," she pleaded, "take me with you, Enishi." Mika had a feeling she was making quite a scene but she didn't care as long as she went to Shanghai. She buried her head into his chest, attempting to hide the smile creeping onto her face. There was only so much hammy acting she could handle.

Enishi frowned, feeling the need to push her away. Whether she was being sincere or lying through her teeth, he didn't want to do this in front of Lei. It made him look weak as if he was involved with the girl. That was certainly not the case. If anything, he mostly pitied her. She had lost someone dear to her as he had. Other than that... He sighed. There was really only two options: leave her in the mansion by herself or take him with her. After thinking about the repercusions of each option, he came to a conclusion. "Fine."

Mika had not been expecting that reply nor so soon. She supposed this was the part where she should stop clinging onto him and say something about how grateful she was. But she couldn't- she was attracted by that masculine scent and the way his muscles felt. So, in spite of what her original intentions were, she kept herself on top of him, listening to the rhythm of his heart and gave his arm a light squeeze of appreciation.

Lei watched with an interest, waiting for Enishi to shove the girl away from him. But he didn't and this surprised Lei- there were very few women that he had known Yukishiro to respect. He began to wonder who was Miyagi Mika and what she meant to Yukishiro.

**A/N**: If this one was kind of boring but the next few chapters should be better. Till later.


	4. Chapter 4: Tomoe's Diary and a Wave of

**A/N**: Yeah, this is a long chapter. But only because I wanted so much to happen in one go. So for those who love the small chapters, sorry!

**CHAPTER 4**:

**Tomoe's Diary and a Wave of Emotions**

They had been on the ship for a few hours and land was already in sight. This made Mika happy. She missed having her feet on land. And the fact that she felt so lonely on this ship added to her excitement. So she had decided to tell Enishi the news.

Mika had been knocking on Enishi's door for a while now and the man had yet to respond. If he thought he could ignore her, he had another thing coming. Without much tact, Mika opened the door. Enishi was no where in sight. Panic immediately settled in as the thought of Lei pushing Enishi overboard crept into her mind. Quickly pushing that image away, she rationalized that Enishi was okay and had gone out to talk to someone on the ship.

Mika walked in and looked around the room, searching for something. She must have found it because her dark blue eyes settled on a book on the dresser. When she got close enough, she could tell it was a diary. It must have been old because the cover was worn out and the pages were no longer pure white.

Mika picked it up and began to flip through it. "Yukishiro has a diary," she said with a hint of sarcasm. "Who would've known?"

Holding the book in one hand, she jumped onto Enishi's bed and laid down on it. She then opened the diary to the first page. The page was scrawled upon with a woman's handwriting or at least that how it appeared. _Maybe he just has really good handwriting_, she thought. It started out with the mention of an engagement to guy. It was then that she realized that diary belonged to a woman. Later on, she would realized that the woman was Tomoe, Enishi's sister and Himura Kenshin's wife.

Time must have past because she began to feel hungry. Even so, she couldn't stop reading the diary. The woman's words were true and heartfelt. She flipped the page to another painful entry of a love that was caught in between. Mika couldn't relate to her entirely because she had never come to love another so strongly. Still she wanted to know more about Tomoe's love for the man, the one who killed her fiancé. _How can she love him,_ she thought, _even though he took away the happiness she could never get back?_

The door opened and Mika quickly bolted upright, hiding the diary behind her back. Enishi walked in and closed the door before seeing Mika on the bed. He was surprised to see her in there; he wasn't expecting company. His emerald eyes landed on the dresser and noticed that Tomoe's diary wasn't there. Immediately his eyes went on Mika's poker face. Things were silent for a while before Enishi said, "Where's the diary?"

Mika didn't move right away because she noticed how cold his eyes had become. There wasn't even a taunting look in them to reassure her to remain calm. It bugged her how unwilling her mouth was to speak or how her lips were refusing to form words. Obediently, her hand went behind her back and took a hold of the book to give to him. Then her arm gave up and seemed to stop functioning. What was so important about the book anyway?

Enishi walked over and pinned her onto the bed, unknowingly causing the book to painfully dig into her back. He was on top of her, his hands around both of her wrists. "Where is it?" He repeated his question again, his eyes more dangerous than before.

"Yukishiro, please get off me." It wasn't a plead but a quiet order instead. She wasn't willing to show him that he was starting to hurt her. After saying those words, she felt his hands release her wrists but felt them grip around her neck. _Is he really going to kill me, _she thought as her hands wrapped around his wrists and tried to pull them away. _I am I going to die in his hands as my father did? _She desperately needed to breathe but no air seemed to get in or out.

Enishi's eyes opened wide. He saw Tomoe frowning on his actions, her eyes in sorrow. And that was when he stopped, instantly relinquishing his grip from her neck. "Why Nee-san? Why can't I..." He got off Mika and backed away from the bed. His green eyes watched her gasping for air, her chest heaving up and down. "Why do you want to protect her?" Then he saw Mika getting up.

Her eyes were on him, full of shock and anger. _Enishi could have killed you, _a little voice reminded her._ So many times he could have._.. She reached behind her and took hold of the dairy. "Here!" She said, throwing it onto the dresser. "Since it's worth killing me over!"

Enishi turned his head away from her gaze. "Get out Miyagi."

Mika stood up, hoping to see into his eyes but to no avail. Giving up, she walked past him and left through the door without a word. She hurried down the hallway to her room where she locked the door. Her heart was beating fast, her throat sore, thoughts racing through her head.

* * *

When they got to Shanghai, they traveled in a group through the town. Mika was in the rear while Enishi was in the front with Lei. He had been avoiding her for sometime now. So they hadn't talked and could hardly look each other in the eye. Mika was getting used to the unignorable silence between them. To look at him would only mean she caved in to the silence. And not willing to surrender, she kept to herself.

"Mika!" The shout caught everyone's attention. Mika turned around and saw a man running towards her. He had short black hair and dark eyes that had lit up when he saw his friend. As soon as he reached her, he pulled out a sword and jumped up to attack her.

Mika's instinct was simple- clapped the blade in her hands to stop the blow. But as soon as she did it, the voice in her mind yelled out _Idiot! What are you doing?_ and she immediately let go allowing the blade to come crashing down. The blade cut through the kimono, exposing her right shoulder. Surprisingly no blood oozed out or was visible.

The guy placed the sword back into its sheath. She should have caught that. If he hadn't spotted her hesitation, he would have sliced through her shoulder. He looked up and spotted the group that she was with. _Mafia_, he thought. That was why. _I guess part one is already in motion._ He folded his arms and nodded at Mika. "Hey. I missed seeing your face."

"Yeah," Mika sweatdropped. "I can probably say the same to you, Hiroshi." She looked back at Enishi who was looking at the two. He had the kind of expression as if they're were crazy or trying to figure out their connection to each other. Her attention was pulled away from Enishi to her friend as he started to hug the air out of her.

"I'm glad you're here," he said as he embraced her tightly. Hiroshi then let go of her and placed his hand on her shoulders. "So how have you been?"

"Great," she muttered, feeling at least eight other pairs of eyes watching. _Damn it, _she thought,_ I nearly blew my cover. They could have figured out that I could use a sword better than the average person._

Hiroshi pulled something out from his pants and smacked it into her hand. It was a folded piece of paper with her name on it. "It's your next assignment," he explained to her in a whisper. With a wave of his hand, he was off and disappeared from sight.

"You've been here before," Enishi said abruptly, his turquoise eyes meeting hers when she turned around. Mika hadn't known that Enishi had approached her. She took a step back from nervousness to create some distance between them. He smirked at her small retreat. "You're not scared of me, are you?" She couldn't answer him and that pleased Enishi. He then tilted her head up by the chin, his turquoise eyes meeting her blue ones intensely. "I hope you are." Somehow, she got a chill from the sound of his voice.

* * *

Mika had already read the note and found out that her target was a man within the mafia. No one that Heishin didn't know and couldn't point out. It would be easy to infiltrate the guy's room and not be suspected. She had already created an alibi that would exempt her from the suspects.

She followed the mafia leader named Shen Wong down the hallway, waiting for the pudgy man to turn around and notice her. Something about the man had instantly clicked greedy in her mind and she would work this to her advantage.

The man turned around and saw Mika standing a few feet behind. He grinned. "You're Yukishiro's woman," he said, licking his lips.

Mika forced a smile at Shen Wong. _That pig, _she thought. _He's already has dirty things running through his mind. _Then she said, "Not really. You can say that I'm independent." She paused a while, thinking about what to say next. "So where's your room," she added quickly looking around to see if anybody was around to hear that. There was no point of having a witness that would mess up her plan.

_

* * *

_

Dear Yukishiro, Hi! I'm going out for a while to see how Shanghai is. So don't worry about me. Don't follow me. Don't find me. I'll see you when I feel like it. Mika

Enishi crumbled the note and threw it into the wastebasket. He was thinking how much of an idiot she was for going out there when thugs could jump her. More importantly, she should have told him so he would prevent her from going out. And then probably tell her sorry for what happened on the ship, sorry for how he treated her, sorry for everything else he couldn't remember. He decided he didn't want to look desperate by searching around the place for Mika. So he waited for her to come to him.

* * *

Wong's room was bigger than anything else she's seen so far. Of course, he was a mafia leader and probably Enishi's room was at least this big. But she hadn't gone to his room because of what happened on the ship. She wondered if Enishi's room also had a fluffy vanilla carpet, a canopy bed, and a huge wall mirror.

"This room is so amazing," Mika commented like she was impressed by the richness of the room. "I wish the guest rooms were like this."

Wong grinned. He had never seen a girl give such a reaction towards him or indirectly anyway. He was never attractive in a woman's eyes and could never go on a proper date. The fact that a girl who was possibly attractive to Yukishiro and was after him boosted up his confidence by a lot. "You could spend the night here," he said.

Mika sat on his bed and crossed her legs. A seductive smile laid on her lips making the man perspire a little. She giggled out of pleasure watching him squirm. _If only I had Yukishiro like this, _she thought, _killing him would be so much easier._

"That sword on that wall," she said, pointing at the blade on the wall in front of her. "You can use it, right?"

Wong immediately went over and took it down to show her. It looked like it was hardly used because it was so resplendent in the light. There wasn't even the slightest scratch on it. Mika could easily say that this must be the guy's prize possession. The man seemed to be taking very good care of it.

"I only use this sword for special occasions," Wong explained. Before he could say more, the blade was out of his hands. He looked at his sword in Mika's hand, clearly astonished by her brash action. He wanted to take it back from her but he didn't want to chase her away. She was the only girl who appeared to be giving him a chance.

"Wow," Mika said. "The craftsmanship is amazing. Not to mention the fine-detailing. And the blade, it's so sharp. It must cut really well." She stood up and walked up to the mirror to start modeling with it.

Wong followed, feeling the urge to get his sword back. "It was very expensive," he said, watching Mika do several poses. "Cost a lot of money but with the mafia expenses back then, it was more than affordable." He then stuck his hands out for the sword, ready to get to the whole point of bringing her to his room.

Mika stared into the mirror, focusing on Wong's position. Her grip tightened on the handle as her eyes narrowed at the reflection. Then, without warning, she swung the sword at Wong and gashed his chest open. Deep red blood spew out and Mika's eyes lit up. Her adrenaline pumped up as she calculated her next attack. She thrust the sword into his mouth and out the back of his head. Despite knowing that shoudl be enough to kill any man, she quickly withdrew the sword to give one fatal blow to the heart. Wong fell down immediately without the slightest twitch of a muscle. She left the tainted sword protruding out of his chest.

Mika glanced down at herself and saw the blood splatter on her kimono. She began searching through some of Wong's clothes and found a big robe. She undressed on the spot and wrapped the robe around her. Then Mika folded her clothes in a way so the blood won't be seen and walked out of the room into the empty hallway.

* * *

Enishi saw his door open from his bed and Mika walked in with a robe on. He raised an eyebrow wondering how long she was walking around like that. He was almost certain that she didn't have anything underneath it at all. As he looked at her, it occured to him that the robe was too big on her and he couldn't understand why the staff couldn't give her a smaller size to use.

"Hello," Mika muttered. She leaned against the door watching him while his turquoise eyes watched her. Yukishiro's gaze never betrayed what he was thinking and she hated that. For once she wished he would show some emotion in her presence. The only time he seemed to was when he was angry at her for something.

Then Enishi said something. "Huh?" She had seen his lips move but didn't hear what he said. So when he repeated the word "sorry" again, she was in disbelief. "For what?" Mika asked.

Enishi rolled his eyes and got up. He could tell Mika wanted to take off but the door was behind her. As soon as he reached her, Enishi pinned her against the it. It was amazing how vulnerable Mika looked and it was so tempting to do what he felt at that time.

"Well," Mika said, trying to keep her composure. "What are you sorry for?" Her heart was racing knowing how close he was to her. If he came any closer, she probably would punch him in the stomach by nature... Or maybe she would bring him closer to her body.

"For everything," he finally said, his eyes focusing on hers. Suddenly he asked, "Did you go to Shanghai with anyone?"

It took her awhile to remember what she wrote in her note. Quickly she shook her head no, thinking why would he asked such a bizarre question. Was it because he cared? Or he had some sort of feelings for her?

"Good." Enishi pulled back from her, leaving her against the door glaring at him. He smirked at her agitation. Besides loving how vulnerable Mika could appear, he had began to love it when she was mad.

Then the door swung open, making Mika tumble forward. Enishi immediately moved up and caught her in his arms. Then he looked up to see who opened door.

Heishin stood there with a flustered look on his face. "Wong's dead," he panted. "You need to come take a look, Yukishiro."

**A/N**: Thanks to Deadly Diva for reviewing as always. I hope this chapter is to your liking. To everyone else- I'll be surprised it you got to the end and if you did thanks. Till next time.


	5. Chapter 5: The Assassin Caught in the

**A/N**: So far, boring week of school. But I've managed to finished this chapter. It's a bit shorter than the last (honestly) but it's still kind of long. Hopefully you will manage to finish this one.

**CHAPTER 5:**

**The Assassin Caught in the Forest**

The death of Shen Wong seemed to have affected several members in the mafia. The incident had aroused suspicions about conspiracies and outsiders being related to it. Xiang Lee, a woman who worked under Lei, had accused Mika of being responsible. But Enishi happened to mention why she couldn't be- she was too stupid, pathetic, and weak to do something like that. The day afterward, Enishi had offered to take Mika out that night so she wouldn't be pestered by the suspicious mafia leaders.

It was a cool night and only the moon was distinct against the sky. All the stars were shunned by the lit streets and shop windows of the busy parts of the city.

"So where are we going?" Mika finally asked as they walked through Shanghai. She had borrowed a qipao from Xiang. It was blue with two slits on each side lined with red. A red dragon maneuvered its way from the bottom to just below the hip area.

Enishi examined her in qipao, surprised how well it fitted her. "To a restaurant," he responded, pulling his eyes away from her. "Then we can go somewhere we can be alone."

Mika's eyes opened wide and she cast a glance over at Enishi. "Why?"

He could easily sense the disbelief and nervousness in her voice. "Does it bother you?"

"Not in the least." She looked away from him, still confused about why was he acting like some perverted gentleman. She found herself wishing she had Wong's blade with her or some other weapon she can use to defend herself if he actually decided to try something. It took her while to realize that they were in front of the restaurant already.

The restaurant was huge with two floors. Its bottom level was entirely inside, completed with candle lights, red satin tablecloths, and roses in the center of every table. The top level was outside but had a roof overhead. It had everything the bottom floor had except there were decorated lanterns instead of candles and no incense.

Enishi took the flabbergasted Mika inside. After spotting a place to sit, he brought her to a table on the bottom floor of the restaurant. Then they sat across from each other and were silent for a several moments. The only time they talked was to give the waiter their orders. And when the food got in front of them, they used eating as an excuse not to talk.

Then Hiroshi came into the restaurant looking for Mika.

Mika watched as he walked over, surprised to see him. Had he seen her walk in? Or had he asked someone if they had seen her walking around? She had not been expecting this visit. Little did she know that Hiroshi was also surprised. Hiroshi had came to find Mika. But to his surprise, there was Yukishiro sitting right across from her. The young man knew the whole history between the two and why Mika wanted revenge. Hiroshi hated him for hurting the woman he loved. Even if she would never return his feelings, he still felt like he had a duty to help her.

Mika saw Hiroshi's cold glare at Enishi and she let out a sigh. "Hey," she said.

"Yeah, same to you," he managed to say, his eyes still glaring at Yukishiro. After his greetings, he slipped an envelope to her on the table. It was thick and heavier than the average letter. "I've been told to give it to you. I advise you not to stay out long." He glanced at Yukishiro. The white-haired man was watching him intently. Hiroshi looked back at Mika before giving her an awkward hug. Between them, he dropped a dagger onto Mika's lap so Enishi couldn't see. "Take care," he whispered into hisAnd then he walked away.

"Must be a lot of money," Enishi muttered when he saw Hiroshi walk out for good.

Mika looked up immediately. "What would make you say that?" she asked. Simultaneously, she managed to hide the dagger underneath the qipao.

Turquoise eyes flashed in her direction. "Nothing," he said smoothly.

* * *

_"Miyagi Mika?"_ Xiang questioned Lei. _"That bitch?"_

Lei nodded. He knew he couldn't get anyone as motivated as Xiang. She was the only one who seemed to hate Miyagi more than him. Of course, while he feared that Miyagi might interfere with his plans, Xiang hated her because she was getting too much of Yukishiro's attention. But despite how Xiang was more subjective than objective, the woman had her uses. _"You are notorious for your intelligence gathering skills."_

Her lime eyes narrowed at the thought of Mika. _"What do you want to know?"_ She asked curiously. _"Anything specific?"_

_"Just some background information,"_ Lei explained, _"Nothing more."_

Xiang raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes. She had other things to take care of. But she forced herself to say "okay" since Lei was her boss.

* * *

They had left the restaurant and had just entered the forest. It was dark and could have been darker if the moon and stars weren't out. Yukishiro led Mika into a clearing surrounded by trees. It was there that they could see the moon clearly.

"I'm surprised you'd let me take you out this far." Enishi still had a firm grip on her hand. His mind was working, thinking about what to do next and how he would do it. The whole time his eyes watched her to see what she was thinking.

"I'm not scared of you," she muttered. And she was surprised to see a mischievous glint in his eyes. Then she was pulled closer to Enishi's towering form.

Mika couldn't explain what happened next. She was on the ground, Enishi on top of her. She looked him straight in the eye, surprised to see a hungry look in them. "Enishi, what are you doing?" she asked. Instead of hearing an answer, Mika felt his lips roughly kissing her. And it blew her away. All her life she had been training to be an assassin. She had never let herself dabble in romances in the fear it would distract her from her one goal in life. While she had learned all she needed to learn to accomplish what she wanted, she would be damned to allow herself to be involved. So it was no surprised that she cursed inwardly as her hand grabbed and fisted in his snow white hair.

It was only a minute in and already half of Mika's conscience had succumbed to all the lust she had been feeling. A part of her was still screaming, _I don't need any of this! _But even so, she allowed the kiss to continue. Mika was in astonishment that her lips had so easily parted to allow his tongue to play with hers and that she was moaning because it felt too good to her. And then feeling of Enishi's hand going up her thigh underneath the qipao made her only want more. Her hand should have come to stop his. But he had one of her hands in his and the other one was running through his soft white hair.

_What is he after, _she thought after awhile, _is he . . . my underwear? _Her mind woke up from the pleasant dream and her body willingly pushed him off at that one thought alone. And she then saw blood seeping through the part of the qipao that covered her upper thigh. She didn't understand how Enishi had wounded her. Then Mika saw Enishi holding the dagger Hiroshi had given her covered in blood.

His turquoise eyes met her blue ones. "So how much were you paid to kill me?" He said calmly, throwing the weapon aside so she couldn't get it. "It must have been more than what you got today."

Mika stood up, pain searing through her right thigh. "Well, you are more valuable than Wong. But no, no one paid me to kill you." She started to move away from him. She needed her distance so she could recuperate and think.

Enishi watched her. "Then it was a coincidence that you were on my island, right?" He already had answers forming in his head. He knew she was an assassin, a very good one if she had managed to kill Wong under his nose. He also wondered if she was assigned to kill Wong before he had first laid eyes on her. Had she known she could infiltrate the mafia through him?

"Have you ever heard of fate?" Mika backfired, interrupting his thoughts.

"Then it was fate for my sister to die?" Yukishiro said coldly. "Is that what you're telling me? Then I guess it was fate for your parents to die as well."

Mika felt her heart throb at the mention of her parents. She felt so guilty that she had kissed him so desperately, so full of desire and it was Enishi who killed her father. "You, bastard," she said angrily, "Don't you even mention them."

"Why?" He encouraged her. "Does the truth really hurt that bad? Maybe they were supposed to die."

"Just shut up!" She felt she had lost control of her emotions. She felt nothing but hatred then. The need for killing him was so much stronger than it had been for the last few days. Revenge seemed to be the only thing running through her mind that mattered.

* * *

Xiang burst into Lei's study. _"It has only been a few hours," _Xiang said to Le quite pleased with herself, _"But I found some info on Miyagi."_

Lei looked somewhat surprised. _"Already?"_

"_Yeah," _Xiang nodded, coming over to his desk, _"You can find anything on anyone born here ten times faster than someone in a different country or prefecture." _She laid down a file in front of her superior._ "Check it out. It turns out that she was born to a Japanese shogun and a Chinese government official. I still can't believe she's half Chinese. I mean her name is Japanese, she looks Japanese-"_

"_Go look up more," _Lei ordered, searching through the folder. _"I want to know her previous whereabouts and crime records."_ He noticed Xiang hadn't moved from her spot. To him, she looked she was surprised at getting more assignments to do. _"Aren't you going to leave?" _She muttered something incoherent and Lei raised an eyebrow challenging her.

With a sigh, Xiang left the area, leaving Lei to his work. He continued searching through the papers in the folder, stopping at the name of her parents. He raised an eyebrow. _"Miyagi Ryozo and Li Ming Chan . . . "_

* * *

Could she run fast enough to the dagger? She didn't know, she wasn't quite sure if she would make it. Was Enishi even armed in the first place? She didn't like the way he was smirking, probably because he knew the blade was closest to him and her leg was in pain.

"What gave me away?" Mika asked, eying the blade desperately.

He shrugged like he didn't know. "Maybe it was that robe you had on earlier. Or maybe it was the way you could use a sword. It could have been all of Hiroshi's mistakes."

"Then why don't you go ahead and kill me?" Mika found herself yelling suddenly. "Or turn me in and tell all your mafia buddies that I killed Wong? Or tell the police that I've been responsible for those deaths they couldn't find the culprit?"

Enishi found himself laughing at Mika. "Are you done yet?" He asked her, already heading over to retrieve the dagger. "I want to know if you really want to die or not." He held the dagger, ready for her answer. Then he noticed Mika was moving toward him. Instinctively he used the blade to defend against any maneuver she may try.

Blood . . . lots of blood seeping through her hand as she held her abdomen. She was shocked. Never has she seen so much of her own blood in any fight. She felt for the dagger still lodged in her stomach and pulled it out. Mika glared at Yukishiro. "You . . . "

"Now you want to kill me?" He easily blocked her from stabbing him in the heart. _She's losing blood, _he mused, _and she hasn't realized it yet. I just need to get her open so I could- _He felt a stab in his shoulder and instantly grabbed her wrist. Enishi then brought his fist crashing down on her head to knock her out.

* * *

Mika found herself in a bed, the sunlight already in the room. She smelled Enishi's scent and rolled over in the pillow get a bigger whiff of it. _This is exactly how he smells, _she thought as she inhaled deeply. _Please say last night was a dream. If he knows, he might blackmail me for sure. _While she was thinking, her hand searched beside her for Enishi's body so she had something to bring herself closer to.

The door opened and Enishi came inside the room. Mika's eyes met Yukishiro's. He stood there watching Mika. She looked confused to him, like she wasn't sure what she wanted to do then. "Are you okay?" he finally asked. He waited for a response from her but she didn't say anything. When Mika didn't answer, he came over and sat on the bed.

Mika turned her back on him. She couldn't look at him- she was too angry as it was. "What do you want this time? And no, Yukishiro, I'm not okay."

Then Enishi said, "So you're mad at me?"

"Of course I'm mad at you." Mika muttered. "Who else do you think gave me these wounds?" She sat up and pulled back the sheets to inspect the wound on her thigh. She had to lift up the robe she was wearing to see how long the gash it was. "You know, you were better off killing me."

Enishi turned around to face her. "I don't have a reason to kill you yet," he said. "Besides, Tomoe wouldn't like it."

Mika collapsed back onto the bed and pulled the sheets over her head. "Your sister has nothing to do with us," she mumbled.

Enishi raised his eyebrows. "Us? When did this become-"

"Look," Mika spoke, cutting him off, "You never take me seriously. Everything that I do or say, you insist it's a joke." Enishi pulled back the sheets to look at her and Mika immediately started to protest. She stopped however when she saw the sincere look in his eyes. It was the unknown emotion in that look he gave her when they were talking about themselves.

"Then how can I show you I'm taking you seriously?" He asked her. "Just tell me one way."

"Well," Mika began, sitting upright, "You could be . . . more considerate of my feelings."

"That's it?"

"Yeah." She felt herself being drawn to him by his eyes. She loved their color and the way they were only looking at her. Slowly she found herself yearning for another kiss from him just to get that feeling. That feeling she would be accustom to every time their lips touched in a kiss. However, her daydream was interrupted by his next few words.

"Good because I have something to tell you."

Her eyes narrowed. "And that is?"

"Wong's assassination."

Before Enishi could continue, there was knocking. Their eyes left each other and went to the door. It swung open and Lei walked in with a smirk. His eyes immediately went over to Mika. "I wasn't expecting you here," he said. Then he added, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"You're not," Enishi muttered. He got up from the bed and walked over to Lei. _"What do you want?" _he asked in Chinese.

"_I want to talk to the girl alone."_

"_About what?"_

"_About herself. She's an interesting person."_

Enishi looked back at Mika before leaving her.

Alone.

With Lei.

**A/N**: I have been thinking about what should happen next and future chapters of the story. When will Lei try to kill Enishi? Who will die? And will Enishi and Mika end up together in the end? I think that there should be only about five more chapters till this story ends. Probably less. Still don't know. I'm still figuring this out. Well anyway thanks to Deadly Diva for reviewing as always. Till next time.


	6. Chapter 6: Truths and Deceptions

**A/N: **Hey! It's been more than a week since I last updated and that is because my momtold me not to go on the internet after school. So I had decided to sneak on in the morning before I go to school which is really early. I have to wake up at 5:30 to catch the bus! Except the site wouldn't let me log in. So now I had to post this today which is Sunday (that was pointless). But anyway, this chapter managed to get very long. Sorry. And my usual Author's Note will be on the second chapter I posted up today. So all thank you's and comments will be in the next chapter.

**CHAPTER 6**

**Truths and Deceptions**

Lei's dark eyes glared at Miyagi scornfully. She was someone he had overlooked when he met her at the island. He had regarded her then as a rude, obnoxious female. But assuming she was completely Japanese had made him believe she didn't understand a word of what they were saying that day. Now he stood there in front of her, no longer sure if she had known his plan from the beginning and if she did, did she tell Yukishiro.

He threw the folder onto the bed and watched as Mika went through it. "You were born here in Shanghai," he told her like she didn't know, "And lived here for practically all your life. Yet you talk Japanese, not Chinese, to everyone in this mafia."

"Are you assuming that I speak Chinese?" She asked. Her eyes locked dead on with Lei's. There was no fear in them, just mockery in her dark blue irises.

"You do know what I plan to do with Yukishiro, don't you?" He asked coldly, his malicious glare still on her. "After all, you did listen to my plans when I was on his island. You remember that well."

"Does it bother you?"

He pushed aside her questions, choosing to ignore every hint of sarcasm she would throw. "These last several days you've refused to let Yukishiro go anywhere without you," he said as calmly as he could. Her defiance was annoying, the fact that she possibly knew his plans was driving him crazy, and the way she wasn't taking this seriously was stressful. He flared his nostrils out of anger. Then she spoke.

"Yukishiro is mine," Mika said to him. "I can't let you kill him."

All the rage disappeared from his face as he smirked and his eyes lit up. "Then you are a woman speaking out of foolish love. What good will it-"

"I don't love him," she immediately denied. "I'm letting you know that his life belongs to me."

"Are you saying you want to kill him?" Lei asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe that the girl who had gazed into Yukishiro's eyes so emotionally and wrapped her arms around him would want that same man dead before her. It was then that he took Miyagi as a dangerous woman, one who seemed amazing at acting and one who could be of some use.

* * *

_I don't know, _Mika thought to herself as she walked through Shanghai by herself, _I don't kn__ow I feel toward that bastard anymore. I'm supposed to hate him and I do get that feeling. But most of the time revenge doesn't matter and I begin to feel that I want nothing more that to belong to him. For him to be the only one to touch me, kiss me, make love to me . . . No, I'm going crazy._ _This is nothing but lust._

Without realizing it, Mika had stopped by a shop door. She went inside to see what they were selling. She decided she could use the money she had earned to buy something that looked good to her.

The shop was full of clothes for men, women, and children. They had shoes on the walls, jewelry in cases, and a tailor in the back working on someone. It wasn't the biggest store she'd seen but it was still a decent size. They had a few employees moving about, putting things where they belong. And the shop had a nice smell to it like they used some incense.

Mika went immediately to the women's section and started going through the qipao. There were a variety of colors and designs. Out of all them, she chose a pearly blue one that had white orchids on it. Then she went over to get a side comb that had the same flower on it and a pair of white shoes to match. Quickly she paid for it all and left the store with her items in a bag. _Will I look beautiful to him if I wear this? _She thought.

She continued to go down the street hoping to see someone she knew. And then she noticed Hiroshi talking to an old man. Mika immediately ran over to him. She needed someone to confess to, someone who she could trust and she knew she couldn't find that in the mafia.

Hiroshi was soon walking with his best friend beside him. He listened to her start out the conversation about how being an assassin was getting more dangerous and harder due to procrastination. After she mentioned assassin seventeen times, he remembered to tell her about her new assignment.

"Another mafia leader?" She said surprised.

"Yeah," Hiroshi confirmed. "Named Fai Tao. Supposed to go to some brothel with his friends tonight. Some celebration about some big deal. Are you ready to pull off acting like a prostitute?"

* * *

Mika sat amongst the prostitutes, wearing a white, skimpy robe made of silk. Due to the amount of makeup on her face, she looked like a totally different woman. She tried her best to hide her bandages on her upper thigh by pulling down on the hem of it. It covered most of it to the point where it was hardly visible. She then waited with the other women for the mafia members to arrive.

They soon came in, walking in one by one very officially. Lei walked in first followed by Heishin, the thugs she met on the island, someone named Wu Lin, another random guy, Fai Tao, Yukishiro . . .

She bit her bottom lip out of nervousness. He was there at the same place as she. He would be the one to recognize her first. And right under his nose she would have to kill someone again. Because he had to leave for the business meeting, he hadn't been able to properly talk to her about Wong. Without a doubt, he was upset about that one. Mika knew this assignment was going to be dangerous, but there were at least eight guys from the mafia who could stop her.

"_Look at the that white-haired man," _she heard someone whispered in Chinese. _"He was the one who got Xiang out of here."_

"_Xiang?" _Mika repeated out of surprise. Surely she couldn't have meant the same Xiang who worked in the mafia and hated her. Then again, Yukishiro did talk to her sometimes in the hallway as if they had been close at one point.

The woman nodded. _"Yeah, but that was years ago. She had gone through some phase claiming she was in love." _From that, Mika knew why Xiang didn't like her. She figured that it was because Enishi didn't return her feelings, the usual reason for jealousy amongst women.

"_You choose first, Yukishiro," _Mika heard Tao offer. _"After all, you got that deal going for us." _She could see Lei's spiteful glare at Yukishiro when he said that and it made her smile. The smile came out looking rather seductive than pleased. Then she saw Yukishiro approached the group of women looking at each one and she was glad for the make up on her face. Still she looked away incase it didn't work.

Yukishiro had a bored expression on his face as he peered down. He was looking for the most unwilling woman he could find. Then he noticed one of them trying not to meet his gaze. Presuming that the prostitute was shy, he took her by the hand. The woman looked slightly alarmed by that. _"I want you," _he said, _"Let's go."_

He had chosen Mika out of the ten of them there and she was afraid he'll recognize her if they were alone. She giggled, trying to pull her hand away but he wouldn't let go. So she shook her head no to say that she wasn't going.

Enishi was not used to being turned down by a woman. He was used to it being the other way around. Because of this, he was persistent with the prostitute. "_You do know you're getting paid, right woman?" _The woman pulled her hand away and tried to not to give him a dirty look. She didn't want to go. Not with him anyway. But if she kept refusing, she would only draw more attention to herself. She stood up to be led away, no longer fighting him anymore about it. He smirked at his triumph and went into one of the closest rooms. After they entered, Enishi closed the door.

Enishi sat against the wall and looked at her. _"Aren't you going to start?" _Just like every time he came, he wasn't in the mood to do anything. He saw no point in this but Lin wouldn't let him live it down.

"_Are all you men obsessed with sex?" _Mika asked, changing her voice slightly. She sat in front of him, tugging on the robe. Then she took notice of the way he was eying her body and blushed.

"_You're not a very good whore, are you?" _Enishi muttered.

"_I'm okay." _Mika turned around and reached underneath the robe for a sleeping drug. She was going to save it for Tao so he wouldn't scream or attract attention while she murdered him. But she wanted to get out of this situation. Quietly she slipped the sleeping drug into her mouth and hid it underneath her tongue. She knew Enishi's style of kissing so she figured it would be easy to drug him.

She crawled over to him and felt hesitant but she forced her body to move. Slowly she leaned forward to kiss him hard and deep. It wasn't long before their tongues danced and she took that moment to slip the drug into his mouth. As planned, he swallowed it. In a few minutes, Enishi was in a deep sleep against her chest.

"Such a good boy, Enishi," she said as she propped him back against the wall. "I'll see you soon, okay?" Mika gave him a quick peck on the lips and left the room.

* * *

When he woke up, Enishi first saw Lei's angry face. Then he saw the other mafia members around him. The girl from before had disappeared. _"What's wrong?" _He asked.

Lei continued to glare. _"That whore of yours must have killed Tao," _he snarled. _"And seeing you were sleeping, she must have drugged you as well."_

Enishi frowned. _"Miyagi?"_

Wu Lin shook his head. _"No, no, no. The one you chose to have sex with." _

Enishi for the first time realized that they were still in the brothel, that it was still dark out, and that more people were there just outside the room. He thought policemen had came to investigate what happened. He wanted to go see the body himself to see how it was done. But with the police around, it was not such a good idea.

"_She must have been the one who killed Wong," _Heishin mused out loud. _"That's two mafia leaders down in the same week."_

When Heishin said that, something clicked in Yukishiro's mind. _It was Mika, _he thought. _That's why that "shy whore" couldn't look me in the eyes._

"_Let's go," _Yukishiro said suddenly. _"There's no point in staying here."_

* * *

Mika stuck her payment underneath the pillow. How long did it take to kill him? Not long. Tao had thought it was another prostitute for him and he had let his guard down. Before he had known what she had been up to, she had slashed him across the throat before lethally stabbing him in the heart. It had been too easy. Then again, most of these mafia men were trained for business not combat. The only person that had witnessed the crime was the original prostitute and she couldn't identify her.

She had a feeling that Enishi would find out that she killed another mafia leader and would come here to her room. Since she believed he might try to kill her, Mika kept a dagger underneath the sheets. Meanwhile, Mika closed her eyes to go to sleep. Then she heard the door open and close, followed by footsteps to the bed.

"Get up, Miyagi. I know you're faking."

Mika gave up the act and opened her eyes. In the darkness, his turquoise eyes seemed to glow. It was the way they looked that made Mika know he was mad at her. "What happen? I want to go to sleep."

"You're playing a dangerous game with me, Miyagi," Enishi said coldly, ignoring her feeble attempts at trying to sound innocent. "You kill one more mafia member and you will die by my hand." He knew if she kept doing this, she would get caught. And if threats were the only way to make her stop, he would use them.

Mika didn't say anything to anger Yukishiro. She didn't want to provoke the man to do anything irrational. It was a threat and she figured Enishi to be the kind of person that would keep their word. Although why he didn't tell his mafia buddies that she was the culprit was beyond her. Then again, Lei probably knew and he was keeping his mouth shut. "I know that," she said.

* * *

"You did great last night," Hiroshi told Mika. They were in the marketplace that day. Mika needed to talk to him again. But Hiroshi kept putting the subject off. He didn't want Yukishiro to be mentioned. He had strong beliefs that the woman who he loved fell for the man who destroyed her life and he didn't want a confirmation.

Hiroshi pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to Mika. "It's your next assignment," he explained as she took it. "Another mafia leader."

Mika read the paper over and over. She didn't want to believe it but it clearly had _his_ name on it. "This can't be right," she said, handing the paper over.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "Don't tell me Yukishiro actually means something to you."

"That's not it," Mika denied. "It's just . . . "

"Just what?" He said irritably. "That you love the bastard?"

"I don't," she replied. "I can't."

"Then what is it? You've been around that guy for at least two weeks. You never took that long to kill someone before. You always took care of it in one night."

Mika shook her head slowly. She didn't want to believe that she had feelings for Yukishiro. She wasn't even sure how he felt about her. Maybe it was more than lust she'd been feeling the past few days but she wasn't ready to accept it. "I..." No words were able to come out.

"I knew it," he muttered. "You love him over me. That's it."

Mika said the first thing that came into her head. "You're jealous?"

Silence and then he walked off. He didn't want to hear anymore. He had been trying to avoid it for days and it managed to come up. Hiroshi loved Mika and he would do anything for her to notice him.

* * *

Yukishiro was at a meeting like every afternoon. To him, they were all pointless and boring and he wished he didn't have to go. The boss wasn't there- he had been on vacation before Enishi had arrived to Shanghai. So Enishi felt like he shouldn't have bothered coming to that day's meeting. He was certain it would be the usual "how to make money," "who to kill," "who's got the better deal," and so on. Because of this he didn't pay attention to what was going on.

The mafia members just finished a big debate on the deaths of the two mafia leaders, Shen Wong and Fai Tao. They had said that it couldn't have been accidental because it was too well planned. After Lin ended it, Lei changed the subject. _"Yukishiro, do you plan on marrying soon?" _He asked.

Yukishiro woke up from his daydream. "Hm?" He heard Lei say his name but wasn't listening to what he said after that.

"_He said are you going to marry soon," _Wu Lin repeated. His brown eyes took a glance at Lei trying to figure out what was the point of that question. He couldn't find an explanation but he was sure there was a good reason behind it.

Yukishiro raised an eyebrow at Lei. _"Who are you thinking about?"_

Lei smirked. _"Miyagi Mika."_

"_What?" _Xiang said out loud. All eyes stared at her. She started to twirl her dark hair between her fingers and sighed. _"Why not let Lin marry her?" _No way was she going to let Mika take Enishi away from her. At one time, Enishi had loved her but that was well over a year ago. It had happened because he had gone into a phase about getting revenge on the man that went by Hitokiri Battosai. Although his love was no longer there, she still felt passion toward the man. And until the day his feelings for her return, Xiang wouldn't allowed Enishi to love another woman.

"_I would," _Lei remarked. _"But, she loves Yukishiro. The whole point of the marriage is for Yukishiro to get her fortune. That is, after she inherits it from her dying uncle, Pang Chan."_

"_Isn't he that rich government guy?" _Heishin asked.

Lei nodded. He pulled out Mika's family tree as evidence for what he was saying. It was clear that the line that extended down from Mika's grandparents branched out into two lines- one for Li Ming Chan and the other for Pang Chan. Feeling like he proved his point, he met Yukishiro's eyes with content. _"What do you say? After all, this could help take care of all our financial troubles."_


	7. Chapter 7: Possessive Over Jealous

**CHAPTER 7**

**Possessive Over Jealous**

_Does she really love me? _Enishi asked himself. He had agreed to the idea because he believed that's why Tomoe wanted to keep Mika alive. What was on his mind was how to make the proposal authentic. And if she would even say yes. Enishi knew the way he felt about her and it was just "caring" to him.

He knocked on her door after standing outside it for several minutes. Mika opened it and stood in the doorway, surprised at seeing him there. He walked in and she closed the door behind him.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"We're having a social gathering tonight," Enishi explained. "I'm just wondering if you wanted to go with me."

Mika looked away from him and began to shuffle her feet. "You are asking me out, right?" She felt extremely nervous in his presence that night. After the argument with Hiroshi, Mika felt that she shouldn't be involved with Yukishiro unless she had a good reason behind it.

"Mika," he drawled, "I am." He then saw how much she was blushing and smirked when he knew he was affecting her. To tease her more, he approached her till mere inches separated them. "Do you want to?"

"Sure." Her voice came out uncertain as Mika felt his green eyes piercing through her. She wished they weren't that close in physical terms. She could easily smell that masculine scent and it was so tempting to bury her face in his chest.

Yukishiro leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I'll see you later then." And Enishi knew he had sent shivers down her spine.

* * *

The ballroom was crowded. They were a lot of people there from different countries. Most of them were from China but the rest were from Japan, England, India and other places. The mafia leaders were amongst them, trying their best to get as many deals as possible. Only Xiang was flirting with the men and Lin was too busy talking to the women. And Enishi was waiting for Mika to arrive.

Finally she did and he watched her enter the room. To him, she looked gorgeous in that blue qipao and all her long hair in a bun. And this time the qipao had one split unlike the previous one she wore before. Immediately he went over to Mika before any other men decided to go talk to her.

"Good evening, Mika," Enishi said before taking her hand and kissing it. "You look beautiful tonight." He glanced over her to see if there were any obvious weapons on her. He didn't see anything and met her eyes. "I'm not making you nervous?"

Mika gave him a half smile. "Not really." She had already taken notice to the fact he didn't have his black sunglasses on. It only made it easier to gaze into his eyes.

Enishi looked over to his right and saw Lei coming with someone. Until they came closer, he could tell it was Hiroshi. He wasn't expecting him to be there. And furthermore, how he knew Lei was a complete wonder to him.

The two men stopped short of them. Lei looked at Hiroshi (who was trying his best to look calm) and then at Yukishiro. "I came to tell you that you're getting both Wong's and Tao's parts of the organization." Then he added he wanted to talk to Yukishiro alone. Lei walked away and Enishi followed him, leaving Mika with Hiroshi.

When they were a good distance out of their hearing, Lei said, "When are you going to propose to her?"

Yukishiro shrugged. He was too busy thinking about what Hiroshi was doing with Mika while he wasn't there. For some reason, he was becoming possessive over the girl to a certain extent. He didn't like the thought of her being with other men who might want her, too.

"You have to ask her soon," Lei said. "Before some other man gets to her before you do."

Enishi flinched. "Like who?"

"Do I really have to give names?" Lei kept a straight face the whole entire time. He was pulling several strings at once. He was controlling Yukishiro's actions, Miyagi's, Hiroshi's and even Xiang's. And he had been the one who paid the assassin to kill Tao. It was all part of his plan. Yukishiro was still alive because Lei knew he was the first choice to give parts of the organization to in case anyone died. The more parts Yukishiro had, the more Lei would get after he killed Yukishiro.

"Look," Lei added, "if you are going to marry her, then make sure Miyagi only thinks of you."

Meanwhile, Hiroshi was talking to Mika. "You look like you're having a good time," Hiroshi muttered. He didn't say anything for a minute or two until he sighed. There was no point in acting that he was fine about the situation. "Yukishiro is going to hurt you."

Mika's dark blue eyes flickered. "I told you I don't love him already. You need to understand that I don't love you either." Suddenly Mika wished that she could take back the last bit when she saw the look in his eyes. "Hiroshi . . . "

Enishi approached the two cautiously when he sensed the tension. He didn't know what was going on but he saw how Mika's friend was glaring at him furiously. Then he realized he was the one Lei was hinting about.

Enishi touched Mika on the shoulder and said, "Can we talk?"

Mika looked back at Enishi surprised to see him there and then at Hiroshi devastated. She was confused about where to go or who to stay with. Then a gentle tug on her hand by Enishi made her go with him, leaving Hiroshi by himself.

He took her outside to the balcony where they could be alone. The moon was out like it was several nights ago when they were in the forest. It brought back the feeling of her body and her lips to Enishi. He then looked at the beautiful girl next to him before kissing her gently. And he wrapped his arms around Mika to bring her closer.

Enishi stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. "Do you love me?"

Mika looked away, her mind flashing back to Hiroshi. "I don't know."

His expression softened. Then he lifted her head by the chin so their eyes could meet. "I'm not going to rush you," he told her, "But I still want to kiss you." This time his kiss was a bit rougher than the last, stimulating Mika to respond by kissing him just as hard.

Hiroshi watched the two silently at a distance from inside. He couldn't believe that this was happening. Mika was no doubt kissing Yukishiro. And it seemed that she was loving every minute of it as she ran her hand through that silky silver hair.

Lei stood behind Hiroshi watching the scene also. He tapped the guy in front of him and Hiroshi immediately turned around. Lei gave him a false smile. "How long do you think this been going on?" He got the response he wanted.

"I don't know," Hiroshi shrugged, his eyes burning with hate. "You tell me."

* * *

The day after had another meeting to attend. As usual Yukishiro didn't try to pay any attention. His mind was, for the first time, on Mika. He was thinking about last night and how beautiful she looked and how good she tasted. Then someone waved a hand in his face to bring him back to reality.

Lei glared at him. He couldn't wait until Yukishiro was dead. _"Did you propose yet?"_

Yukishiro shook his head no. _"I'll wait a little longer."_

"_Yeah," _Lin mumbled. _"Get a little bit of sex in between. And that reminds me. How are we so sure that Chan's going to die now?" _It was weird how his mind connected sex to Chan.

Ignoring how that statement came out of the blue, Yukishiro grinned maliciously. _"We kill him of course." _It's been awhile since he got into a fight with anyone. The last person was Mika- if that was really considered fighting.

"_I'll go," _offered one of Lei's thugs. _"I have nothing else to do in Shanghai." _He figured that Lei would have sent him anyway.

Lei looked at his subordinate_. "I already have people there. They'll kill the man in a couple of days." _So far, so good. He just needed Yukishiro to fall in love. That would screw him up real good. He had seen it happen to so many other men he knew. They all started well till some woman entered their lives and pulled them down. And gave them a weakness.

Xiang looked at Yukishiro anxiously, ignoring the point of the discussion. _"Did you kiss her yet?"_

Yukishiro was about to say no when Lei cut him off. _"Yeah," _Lei said slyly. _"But they didn't do too much beyond that." _He felt Yukishiro glaring at him but he didn't care. Looks couldn't kill and that's why Lei was still there breathing.

"_I guess that's all to discuss," _said Shaiming Yuan. He was one of the older members of the mafia. He rarely spoke at meetings because he was more of a listener and observer. To him, the younger people didn't seem serious like the previous mafia members before them. Wong was a greedy man, Lin sex-obsessed, Xiang a flirtatious ex-prostitute, Yukishiro a dedicated slacker, Lei an ambitious manipulator and the list of his perceptions went on. Yuan just hoped they would learn the ropes over time.

"_We can go," _Lei said. _"There's no point in staying here. We'll meet tomorrow. Except Yukishiro. He might be taking care of something."_

* * *

Yukishiro went to his room after the meeting. He had avoided questioning from Xiang and further implications from Lei. Strangely, he was hoping that Mika would be there waiting for him. Instead of her on the bed, it was note addressed to him. He read it and he smirked. To hide it from Mika, he put the note in his pocket. There was no need to get her involve.

* * *

Mika went to open the door so the person would stop pounding on it. Whoever it was had little patience. When she opened the door, Mika was surprised to see Lei there. He was smirking at something and it didn't click in her mind as a good thing. "What do you want?" she asked him.

"I hope you're not busy tonight with Yukishiro," he said slyly, noticing the tinge of red on her face. "Your friend, Hiroshi wants to speak to you later. Says it's important. Something about the night of the social gathering. You know, when you were out on the balcony." He saw the necessary effect. She looked guilty like she did something wrong and her face was little red with embarrassment.

"I won't tell anyone," Lei added when he walked out. "After all, it's not like you love Yukishiro."

* * *

How long had he been waiting? For about ten minutes. It was dark out but he stood in the middle of the street hoping that the bastard would show up. Hiroshi decided he needed to do this for Mika if she couldn't do it herself. It was driving her crazy and making her do things that she wouldn't normally do. It was the only explanation for her rash actions if she wasn't in love. Then he saw Yukishiro walking, taking his time.

Hiroshi pulled out his sword. "I've been waiting for you." He immediately went into his fighting stance. The sword pointed at a vital part on Yukishiro and he charged.

Enishi didn't know he could move that fast but he easily countered it by drawing his own sword. "What's the point in this?" He didn't see any and he should have been working on that proposal thing for the mafia's sake.

"I know your kind," Hiroshi muttered, taking a swing at Yukishiro. He watched him move back with ease. "You've done enough damage to Mika in the past." He attempted another swing and his opponent avoided that one as well. Hiroshi tried again.

Yukishiro smirked and immediately went on the offensive. He dodged Hiroshi's intended blow and slashed him across the stomach. Hiroshi unfortunately did not waver and struck Yukishiro on the shoulder. He tried another swing but Enishi raised his Tachi just in time to block it, despite the pain coursing through his arm.

Hiroshi stuck his right hand into his pocket and pulled out two small daggers. Then he threw them at Enishi. The first one Yukishiro managed to avoid; the second one grazed his cheek. Seizing the opportunity, Hiroshi slashed Enishi across the chest.

Enishi retreated to recuperate a bit. His shirt was drenched in the blood that oozed freely from his shoulder and his chest. The wounds must have been deeper than he thought. His green eyes glared at Hiroshi whose blood was dripping on the ground, creating small puddles.

"What have I done to Mika?" Yukishiro asked. His voice monotone and his expression made him look like he didn't care even if he did do something.

"You know well what you did," Hiroshi muttered. Ignoring the agony, he ran toward Enishi with only one thought on his mind.

Yukishiro jumped up and Hiroshi stopped moving to look up. He landed behind him and swirled around to unleash his attack. "Watoujutsu," Yukishiro cried, "Shugeki To Sei!" He kicked the flat side of his blade to increase the force of the strike. The Tachi cut through the back of Hiroshi's clothes and went deep into his skin. It only caused more bloodshed and painted the ground red.

Hiroshi stumbled forward but managed to get to slip his hand into his pockets. He pulled out several small bombs and threw them in front of Enishi. They exploded, causing dust to raise into the air and impaired Enishi's vision. Yukishiro never saw it coming. Hiroshi came through the dust at an incredible speed and elbowed him between the eyes. It was technique he used to give his opponent a temporary disadvantage by taking away his or her vision.

"You took away everything she ever had in her life," Hiroshi snarled. "And for that I hate you!"

* * *

_Jinchuu... If the heavens will not pass judgement, then man must do so... That's the only thing that we both believe in. But I don't know if I can still do it._

Mika laid in the darkness of the room on the bed. The curtain was still drawn so the moonlight flooded in. And the crickets chirped obnoxiously in the background. But that wasn't why she was still awake. She couldn't go to sleep because she was waiting to sneak out. Lei had suggested that it would be best to wait till it was late. So Enishi wouldn't stop her when she was on her way to go meet Hiroshi. Unfortunately, Mika took that advice without a second thought.

**A/N: **Hee, Hee, Hee... A cliffhanger, I guess. First thing that I got to say is that bugging my dad for that PS2 and Kingdom Hearts II is not really effective. So now I resorted to the "good grades" technique. I'm dying to get that game! I like that song "Sanctuary" by Utada Hikari but I like "Simple and Clean" better. It's just me.

Thanks to Deadly Dive for reviewing. I took your advice even though I did kind of shun Mika these last two chapters. But I needed to give more personality to the other characters especially Enishi. Other readers (if there are) write a review! Writers crave reviews! That's it really. Till later.


	8. Chapter 8: Another Tomoe

**A/N:** As the story gets closer to the end, I realized how this would be the first story I have ever finished! That would be a big accomplishment on my part. I'm currently working on Chapter 9 and thinking ahead about Chapter 10. That last chapter might take me forever to write. It needs the perfect ending (or something close to that).

**CHAPTER 8**

**Another Tomoe**

His sight was gone and that should have enhanced the other four senses. But all he could feel was the warm, sticky blood from his wounds. Yukishiro had let Hiroshi outsmarted him and he felt vulnerable. Even if his hearing was a little more keener, Yukishiro couldn't avoid every attack.

Enishi heard footsteps coming toward him and he moved in the opposite direction. His ear caught something swiping through the air and ending up feeling more blood. The footsteps came toward him again and this time he tried to wing it. "Watoujutsu- Kaishi To Sei!"

Hiroshi was surprised that he had hit him dead on in the shoulder. He wasn't expecting that thrust to come so quickly. He backed away, removing the blade from his shoulder. Then he charged toward him fast.

Everything was pitch black several minutes ago but now there were outlines of his surroundings, one of them moving. But then that figure looked distorted for a second and it confused him. It made sense to him when he felt something come crashing down on his head, causing blood to run down the sides of his face. He didn't know what did that but it was hard enough injure his head. The figure started to move again and this time Yukishiro ducked low and struck in an upward motion.

There was no more movements- his body had stopped responding. Hiroshi saw the sword protruding out of his chest and all the blood that dripped from his mouth on the floor. Slowly, his vision darkened, his last thought on Mika. And that was it. He was dead.

Yukishiro pulled his Tachi out and he heard the body fall unto the ground. He was losing blood and his vision was gradually returning. For the first time, he realized how serious his injuries were and it was taking a toll on his body. He started to walk off, so he wouldn't be seen next to the body. When he was a good distance away, he heard a cry, a yell, a scream. All of it came from where the battle had just been fought. For some reason, he was glad he didn't get to see who the person was.

* * *

Xiang sat on the stairs in front of the main door. She wanted to sleep but Lei had "suggested" that she should wait to see who was coming in. Only two other people had past by her on the stairs. Lin had passed her to reach the kitchen and Mika had gone out the door in a hurry. She hadn't come back yet. And she knew Yukishiro wasn't in his room either. He had gone of somewhere.

There was a weak knock on the door and she got up to open it, prepared to yell at the person for coming there late. But she was surprised to see Enishi there covered in blood. At first, she was petrified at the sight. But eventually her body started to move and her mind started to work.

"Oh my god," she cried as she tried to help Enishi inside. Her mind was screaming "Call somebody!" but she didn't know who. Then Yuan came down stairs at the right moment. His eyes opened wide.

"What happened-"

"Please," Xiang said impatiently. "He needs help."

* * *

Everybody was at the meeting except Yukishiro, Xiang and the boss. They all looked more serious than usual. The mafia leaders felt targeted now that two of them had been assassinated and one barely came out alive. The only one who looked eerily calm Lei, who everyone else was expecting to be next.

Lei felt pleased with himself. Yukishiro was now severely injured and was suffering from wounds that would take more than a week to heal properly. Hiroshi, who knew pieces of the plan, was dead. Xiang had kept her mouth shut about everything so far. And Mika, clueless about how Hiroshi had died and Yukishiro's health, was in a state of depression and wouldn't be in the way for some time. But Lei had other problems before anything more could be done.

Yuan watched Lei from the end of the table. He didn't like the man at all. And the attacks were no longer considered coincidental. No, there was definitely some method at work there and Yuan was beginning to think Lei was somehow linked. After all, no one else but Lei could manipulate the human mind to his bidding. Lei understood the mind completely. Maybe that was why their eyes met for a second.

"_I'm just gonna say," _Lin announced, _"That the assassin will take us all down eventually only Yukishiro is still alive and Lei would probably be the next person in line. So if Yukishiro is alive, we'll be fine." _There were some murmurs of agreement around the table.

A woman named Yan Yan Fang thought otherwise. She worked under Lin as an advisor and a sort of financial manager. Xiang was the only other woman who was allowed to attend the meetings and without Xiang there to support her, she felt like she had no voice in the matter. So she sat quietly, taking notice of several tensions around the table.

"I don't think that's true," Yuan said. "Now that Wong and Fai are dead, I can now say that they were not great leaders. This assassin is not going for the best- they are taking down the ones they could get their hands on. But the situation at the brothel when the person drugged Yukishiro to take down Fai is still unexplained. The only explanation is that someone behind the assassin who wants certain people dead."

Lei didn't let his glare betray his true emotions. He started considering another death.

* * *

Xiang started to place new bandages on Enishi's body. She was surprised to see that he was alive and that made her happy. Taking a bottle and pouring a liquid in her hands, she started to rub it on his skin. Then she heard hissing sounds and she immediately started to apologize that it was hurting him. But she continued, knowing it was the best way to treat his wounds.

Then she took the bandages and started to wrap his wounds again. For some reason Xiang looked sad and Enishi took notice right away. He watched her as she started to wrap his injuries as gently as she could, her eyes in sorrow.

"_What's wrong?" _He asked her.

Xiang looked up in astonishment. Should she be honest? Her heart wasn't sure but she was willing to try to know where she belonged in his life

"_I... I still love you," _she forced out. _"I really do." _She then placed on of her hands on his cheek and tried to kiss him, but he turned his head away from her. That alone baffled her until a sharp pang was felt in her heart. Then she spoke more quietly. _"Do you love her now? Is that why you . . . ?" _She couldn't stand to look at him. It was too much.

Enishi couldn't answer her question. Everything that was good and solid had crumbled. Somehow having Mika in his life did that and for the first time he realized how similar her life was to his sister's. Mika had cared for someone whose life was taken from her. The people who she had known to love her were gone. And now she had no one to go back to. Except him.

He wasn't quite sure how to tell her that he was the one who killed Hiroshi. He wasn't sure if he could tell her those words. And then Enishi knew he could have possibly done something to her in the past. But she hadn't told him about it yet.

Xiang cleared her throat rather loudly to get his attention. _"The news came here this morning that Chan was found dead," _she stated, changing the subject. _"All there is now is the wedding that Lei's setting up." _

"_I see." _He didn't say anything afterward. Love was a pain.

* * *

Lei had been knocking the door furiously. There had been no answer from Mika for the last five minutes. So he slammed the door opened. He was surprised that the woman was there on the bed. She could pass as dead if she wanted to, only she was breathing. Her dark blue eyes were empty as they looked into space.

He closed the door for some privacy. No need for people to hear what they were going to discuss. Lei walked over to Mika and knelt down in front of her. He smiled warmly. "Miyagi, how are you? Not so well, are you?" There was no response. Then he stood up and his smile disappeared. He didn't like the fact that she wasn't responding or being that rude female he had encountered before. "Listen, I know you're an assassin. I need you to kill someone for me. Name your price." Still, there was no answer. His eyes then narrowed from contempt.

"What happened to you, Miyagi?" He growled. "You lost your friend?"

Her hand clenched the pillow in front of her face. "They say . . . that my uncle's dead now." Her voice held no emotion and that angered him that he wasn't getting through to her.

Lei groaned and pulled out a dagger. Then he stabbed through the bed, missing her neck by less than an inch. "Go kill Yuan," was his order. He walked out the room and slammed the door. _It's like she lost the will to live, _he thought.

* * *

The funeral for Kawano Hiroshi had passed. Mika didn't want to see the body that had been covered in blood and decided not to go. The day afterward, a letter came in the mail saying that she had inherited a large sum of money. But she didn't bother eating or moving. She lied on the bed similar to how Lei had found her a week ago.

Mika had a feeling that Enishi had killed Hiroshi. But she hadn't seen anything of him since the social. And if he did come and told her that he's responsible for his death, she would murder him on the spot. The dagger Lei had left laid hidden underneath her pillow.

Yan Yan entered the room without knocking. She came in with Mika's dinner on a tray. "Miyagi," she chirped, "Here's your dinner! You are going to eat tonight, right?" Yan Yan placed the tray in front of Mika. Mika, as usually, didn't move or budge and continued to stare into space.

Yan Yan looked over her shoulder and said, "I told you she's not responding." Then Enishi walked in and walked over to Mika. He still had a bandage covering the cut on his cheek and bandages covering his muscular torso. The bandages on his torso were visible because he didn't bother wearing a shirt. He decided it was a big hint for her.

Yan Yan held her breath to see what he was going to do. But she was surprised that he did nothing. "Hello? The point of you coming here was to make her eat."

Enishi continued to look down at her. It reminded him of how Tomoe had been Kyosato, her fiancé, had died. Seeing any woman like that sort of made him fret and he couldn't stand it. It was one of the reasons why he believed women to be fragile and easily broken. He never thought Mika would become like that. "I don't care if she dies," he finally said.

"But-"

Enishi started to leave the room. He saw no point in staying with an empty shell. "If she doesn't feel like living, I won't force her." A dagger whizzed passed his face and pieced the wall in front of him. He looked back and saw Mika was up, her eyes finally filled with anger. Then he grinned and pushed his black glasses up the tip of his nose. "Can you leave us alone?"

"Sure," Yan Yan said and went out the door, closing it behind her.

The smile was gone and Enishi started to walk over to the bed. "Well," he said, "Aren't you going to kill me?"

Mika was about to leap off the bed to attack him but Enishi tackled her into the bed. She felt so much weaker and she couldn't find any strength to push him off or get her wrists out of his grasp. Just then, she felt vulnerable for the first time in her life. "You killed him," she whispered in disbelief. _I should have killed him weeks ago, _she thought. _None of this would have happened._ _Hiroshi would still be here with me. And I wouldn't feel this way about Enishi._

"I'm sorry," Enishi told her.

"What does that change? It's not like he will come back."

"I know that," he told her. "But eat something at least. You don't have any strength in you to fight back. The dead don't come back, Mika. And if you continue this shit, you won't be here." He released his grasp on her wrists and got off Mika.

"Just leave me alone." Mika said but then she noticed him already leaving. When she made sure he wasn't coming back, she started to slowly eat the food. There was no reason to lose all her strength.

* * *

Yan Yan was walking down the hallway when a door opened and she was grabbed in. The room was pitch black and the person was covering her mouth. She couldn't see the person's face but they had a strong smell radiating off from them. Yan Yan wasn't a fighter like most mafia members and she hated that weakness.

"_Promise you won't squeal?"_ The voice definitely belonged to a man. No doubt about it. It was too rough and deep for a woman.

She nodded and she felt the hand uncovering her mouth. A candle was lit and she was surprised to see Yuan in front of her, holding some papers under his arm.

"_Are you mad?"_ She asked him.

Yuan didn't say anything to her question. Instead he threw the papers unto the floor in front of her. _"I found those papers in Lei's room."_

"_Why were you snooping around in there?" _The woman started to search through the papers, surprised that Mika was on most of it. There were some papers that had information on a guy named Kawano Hiroshi. Others were family charts and previous criminal records. _"What does this mean?"_

"_Why would Lei have papers on Miyagi?"_ Yuan asked, ready to provide an answer himself. He paced the room back and forth. _"He must be planning something."_

Yan Yan gasped and grinned. _"I know what this means. Lei is in love with Yukishiro's girlfriend."_

"_This mafia will soon be run by imbeciles," _Yuan groaned. He would have told Xiang but she had left sometime during the week. Said she needed time to think some things over and that she was heading out to Tokyo. He decided a woman was more trustworthy than a man. Only Yan was the only one he really knew. Yuan decided to try again_. "Listen. I'm going to tell everything that I know because I might die."_ He was right.

**A/N: **Hope that wasn't too boring. No more action till the end of Chapter 9. I decided that I might make another RuroKen Fanfic. It's about what happens when Xiang travels to Tokyo and who she meets there. I don't know if it's obvious who I'm talking about but it probably is. I have no idea what I'm going to call it though. Anyway, I want to thank Deadly Diva for reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed the last two chapters. I also want to thank baby blues jaded for reviewing. I'm glad you think this is worth reading. Till later.


	9. Chapter 9: To Love, To Hate, To Fight

**A/N**: HI! It's raining this morning and I have to go out and wait for the bus. It's sucks. Besides that, here's the second to last chapter of Secrets. Enjoy and I hope it's not boring.

**CHAPTER 9**

**To Love, To Hate, To Fight**

A few days passed and it was night again. Enishi watched Mika practiced with a sword in one of the training rooms that the Mafia had. He didn't bother saying anything- not an insult, not a compliment, nothing. The reason was that Enishi was deep in thought.

He had gotten a notice from Lei. It was challenge and their shares of the organizations were on the line. Unfortunately, the fight couldn't be avoided and couldn't be stopped once it has been approved by the boss. The winner would take all and the loser would have nothing. The fight was tomorrow and his wounds hadn't fully healed yet. Enishi knew he wouldn't be at full strength and losing his parts of the organization didn't matter much. It was just Lei had dragged Mika into this and said the winner would be the one to marry her. A month ago, he wouldn't have cared. But now he was certain that he loved her and wouldn't let another man take her away.

Mika noticed Enishi had been quiet for longer than normal. By now, he would have said something to piss her off. She stopped chopping air and looked back at him. "What's wrong now?" She asked him.

"Nothing," he mumbled. "Go back to your training." The sword missed his head by a mile. His green eyes shifted to where the sword was vibrating in the wall. "Your aim needs work."

Mika couldn't believe the way he was acting. A few days ago, he was fine, teasing her whenever he was around and not busy. Now he was almost trying to shun her or get rid of her. If he wanted to be left alone, all he needed to do was ask.

"I'll see you later," she announced as she left the room. Mika didn't want any more of his sarcastic remarks soon to come. It nearly upset her when she didn't hear Enishi say anything against it. She was hoping he would.

* * *

Enishi looked out of the window, still thinking. He wasn't expecting to do anything that night. He decided he should rest up for the fight liked he had planned on doing earlier that day. Just when he was going to go to bed, there was knocking on the door. Enishi told the person to come in. The door opened and in the doorway stood Mika, dressed in a thin robe. His green eyes roamed over her figure taking in every detail as possible. Then they finally rested on her lips.

She walked in and sat on the bed. She didn't say anything at first. Her legs were just swinging as they hung over the side of the bed. And her dark blue eyes looked at him as he slowly walked over to sit. The bed creaked a bit when he sat beside Mika but it didn't matter to him.

Their eyes connected. "Tell me something," she said. "Did Tomoe really love Himura?" Her eyes looked sincere when she said that and it threw him off. He wasn't expecting that question.

"I guess," he admitted slowly, his eyes narrowing at the idea.

"And why was that?" Mika needed an explanation for her own feelings. She didn't want to go on not knowing why she felt the way she did. She needed a reason to love this man.

"Because . . . " Enishi was looking for the right words for Mika. It still bothered him that he had been wrong to take revenge on Battosai. But even so, he hated the fact that Tomoe fell in love with that man. "Because she found a new happiness," he finally said. Enishi then felt Mika placed her head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer.

Her eyes closed to think about what he said before they opened again. "Enishi," Mika suddenly said to him. Their eyes met and her heart started to pound against her chest. She gulped before she continued. Mika didn't know how right it was but she trusted her heart. "Give me a new happiness, too . . . So that for once in my life, I can feel complete." She gazed into his eyes longingly, her lips slightly parted.

Without hesitation, Enishi kissed her and she willingly complied. Hungrily, he held her against his body and her form fitted his own perfectly. Lust was gone and love was in its place as their lips collided in their heated passion. Mika held the back of his head so he wouldn't stop any time soon. It was getting a little harder to breathe, but nothing else seemed to matter anymore. Enishi then licked her bottom lip and her mouth parted to let him in.

The bed rushed below them as Mika fell back, still feverishly kissing Enishi. A moan escaped her throat before he left her mouth to make his way down her neck. His lips felt wet to her skin but she loved the sensations she was feeling. Although he didn't say so, she knew that Enishi loved her.

_I can't find the words to say how I feel about her, _he thought. _But I do care her and I don't want to lose her like I lost Nee-san._ His hands began to pull the cotton belt that had been preventing the robe from opening up. That night, he decided to show Mika his affection.

* * *

It was morning going up to noon when Mika woke up in Enishi's muscular arms. Never had she felt the way she did last night. It felt so right to see him next to her in the morning. She softly stroked his hair. "Enishi," she whispered. Mika didn't want to wake him up if he was still sleeping.

His green eyes opened to gaze into her own. "Hey," he said and pecked her gingerly on the lips. "You slept well?" She nodded and he grinned.

"You have another meeting?" She asked. Mika felt his arms untangling around her. The warmth disappeared and she wrapped her body in the sheets.

"Not really," he responded. He sat up and thought for a second. "Mika?"

"Yes?"

"You do love me, right?"

"Yeah."

The second question was a little more difficult to say. He had to force it out of his throat. "Will you marry me?"

Her eyes opened wide from surprise. Marriage wasn't something she had thought about. Mika did choose loving him over killing him but her mind had been on the past. Had she forgotten what he had done? No, that part of her was still there, clinging on to not be buried.

It alarmed him that she didn't say anything and that her eyes clouded. Enishi laid back down on the bed to hold her. "Did I do something to you?" He asked, remembering what Hiroshi had mentioned during the fight. Then he felt her arms being laced around his neck.

"Promise that you won't hurt me," she asked of him. "Promise me at least that much."

"I won't," he told her, "I can't. I love you too much do that."

A small smile appeared on her face as she nestled against his neck. "Then I'll marry you."

* * *

Heishin walked down the hallway with Yan Yan. He had noticed that Yan Yan had managed to dye her hair pure red and it freaked him out. To him, it didn't look that great on her. But he believed he'd get used to it eventually. Besides, talking about the upcoming fight took his mind off of it.

"_Yukishiro will die," _Heishin said to Yan Yan, _"And Lei will be my new boss. I hate him even more than Yukishiro."_

"_Don't say that!" _Yan Yan exclaimed. _"That's a jinx. You'll make it come true."_

Heishin raised an eyebrow at the somewhat enthusiastic, superstitious woman. He was not used to all this cheerfulness. That what happens when you're around revenge-seeking people too long. They rub off on you. _"Have you been taking crack recently?" _He asked so he could check to see if she was still in her right mind.

Yan Yan frowned. _"No. Why do you ask?"_

"_No reason," _he lied. Then he changed the subject to some gossip he had heard. _"Is it true what Lin said? About Yukishiro and his woman?"_

Yan Yan gasped like it was an insult. But it was a little over exaggerated. _"How can you question Lin's abilities? He knows who you sleep with, when it happened, and was it worth it." _She nodded her head to reassure the man next to her.

Heishin smirked. _"Then Yukishiro did sleep with Miyagi. You know he's only doing this to get her money for the mafia. The woman doesn't even know how much of a whore she's being."_

Yan Yan stopped walking when she saw someone walking toward them and started to wave. "Hey, Mika!" She was so glad that Mika was out of bed that she didn't realize her expression. Mika brushed right passed them and continued the opposite way, looking upset and slightly hurt. Yan Yan frowned. "Fine. Don't talk to me."

* * *

For the last ten minutes, Lin had been bugging Yukishiro about the previous night. So far, he had been asking the most disturbing questions possible, all of them embarrassing. He hadn't got a verbal answer yet but he saw how red Enishi was getting, a sign that all the answers had been yes. Still it wasn't satisfying to Lin unless Yukishiro actually admitted it.

"I bet she felt really good." Some men in the room laughed. This only encouraged Wu Lin to continue probing Yukishiro for answers. "Come on. Why won't you say something?"

The door opened up and a pissed off Mika walked into the room. The men urged Enishi to go and meet her. He walked toward her, not knowing what to

expect. Then she slapped him across the face. The men in the room watched silently.

"I can't believe you!" She started to yell. "You egotistical jerk! I bet you feel real pleased about yourself! You had sex with me just so that you cou-!"

Enishi's emerald eyes narrowed. "Woman, you need to shut up." The side of his face was still red and stinging from the slap. He wasn't used to getting slapped in front of subordinates. If every woman he had met had been like Mika, he might have been able to kill Kaoru that day.

"I won't shut up!" Mika continued. "Do you know how I feel? I feel wronged! I feel ashamed, desperate, dirty-!"

Enishi couldn't take any more and took a hold of her wrist. Then he dragged her out of the room and closed the door so they couldn't be overheard. "What is your problem, woman?" He snapped at her.

Mika yanked her wrist away from him and then started to observe it for any possible bruises. There wasn't any that she could blame him for. "You're my problem," she said a little more calmer than a few moments before. "You used me to get money."

He raised an eyebrow. "Who told you that?" He knew that how it was in the beginning but that had changed.

"Why does it matter? The point is that you did. After I trusted you. And... why are they talking about you dying?" Her eyebrows furrowed at the idea of losing him. Not wanting to let him see her expression, she turned her back on him to think about the situation.

"Look," Enishi muttered. "I'll explain to you later." He then ran a hand through his hair. Instantly, found himself wishing she was like the night before: good, sweet, and didn't bother using words to tell him how she felt. It had been nothing but physical-

"I want to know now," Mika grumbled, interrupting his thoughts. "I need to." She folded her arms, the frustration starting to get to her. Why was he doing this to her? Couldn't he see that she was worried about him?

Enishi walked over to Mika and embraced her from behind. His chin was on her shoulder and his eyes were studying her face. Somehow hormones got the better of him and he started to shower her neck in kisses. "Don't worry," he said between them, "I will."

"Well," Mika said, pulling herself away from him. She was surprised she could do that. It had felt too good to stop but she didn't want to get too freaky in a hallway. After all, she was supposed to be mad at him. "Start telling me about what's going on."

* * *

Mika had always wondered what it would have been like to have men fighting over her. Only she hadn't thought it would be like this. The whole reason was partly because she was rich, partly because someone loved her, and partly because she had managed to get involved in mafia affairs.

The mafia had gathered in a circle around the invisible ring. Yukishiro and Lei were in the middle with their weapon of choice. Enishi had his Tachi and Lei held his sword, a jian. Lei looked calm while Enishi was apparently pissed off. The fight couldn't have come at a better time for Lei. He knew it would be easy. But he still felt he should do something else just to see Yukishiro offended somehow.

Wu Lin stepped out from the crowd like he was a referee. He raised his hand and the crowd silenced immediately. "Okay," he projected, "I want this to be a clean fight. The fight will be over when one person gives up or when one person dies. Now, Miyagi, come forward so they can see one of the things they're fighting for." He had to wait a while for Mika to show herself. It looked like Yan Yan had to push Mika into the open since she was right behind the reluctant girl patting her on the back. "That's your inspiration- the sexy _rich_ woman right there!"

Yukishiro narrowed his eyes at Lin. Did Lin just wink at her? If he had been the person fighting him, he wouldn't let the man live.

"Come here, Miyagi," Lei ordered. Mika took one look at Enishi and walked over to the man. He was certain she had only came because she didn't want to endanger Yukishiro's life. Lei grinned sadistically at Enishi before he yanked Mika toward himself and kissed her on the spot. He could feel the poor woman struggling to get away from him but Lei was stronger so he held her. But then Lei felt his bottom lip got bitten and he back off. His hand touched his lip and found it was bleeding. "Bitch," he found himself muttering, "You dirty bitch."

_I can't believe he did that, right in front of Enishi..._

"Move, Mika," Enishi ordered as he walked toward Lei. His tachi was already unsheathed and his eyes had turned suddenly ice cold. He couldn't see his woman getting touched by another man. It just didn't go with him.

Mika moved out of Enishi's way. She found herself worrying about the man but also feeling that this had to happen. To justify her parents' deaths, then Yukishiro must die. She couldn't kill him anymore and she felt that she should die of all people. Because if she couldn't kill him, why make it so difficult living when death was not so far away? Why feel guilty for being in love with the man who had destroyed her life? Why live in hell than burn in it instead?

Lin sighed. He had a feeling this would get messy. "Begin!"

Enishi charged towards him and Lei moved out of the way. Lei's eyes lit up and his jian cut into one of Yukishiro's wounds that was still healing. As planned, the wound opened again spilling out fresh new blood. Lei attempted to open another wound but the Tachi came in the way.

Yukishiro had an idea that this would happen. That Lei would take advantage of the fact he was handicapped. And now he could use only fifty percent of his usual strength. Enishi caught Mika's glance. To him, it looked like she was thinking about something and was hurting inside.

"Pay attention, Yukishiro!" Lei pulled his jian away from the deadlock and took another swing. The swing caught Enishi off guard and hit him on the side. Lei was smirking until he felt a slash across the chest. He stumbled backward, furious that he had been hit. It only angered him further when he saw Enishi grinning regardless of how severe his own wounds appeared. Lei then ran towards Yukishiro and took a swing that would have been fatal if Enishi hadn't move. It only happened to make the wound on his side deeper than before.

Enishi sucked his teeth and muttered a few curse words. He was in for a rough night.

**A/N**: The final chapter is coming next week. So people review this one please. It would be much appreciated. Anyway, thanks to Deadly Diva for reviewing. I'm not the best grammar/spelling checker. Also want to thank Dragoness Triplets for reviewing Chapter 2. Yep, all hot anime guys are awesome. Till later.


	10. Chapter 10: The Past, the Present, and

**A/N: **I figured I might need a Chapter 11 to wrap this story up. This one ran on too long (as you can see when you look at the scroll bar. Too tiny right?). So Chapter 11, the final installment for sure, will be posted up next week. So enjoy this one since it's here.

**CHAPTER 10**

**The Past, the Present, and the Future**

Mika watched the fight from the sidelines as she was supposed to. She didn't bother intervening every time Enishi was caught off guard and kept herself (with ease) from not screaming at the sight of Lei's jian covered in blood. Her mind was elsewhere, wondering on a past not so long ago . . .

-FLASHBACK-

It was summer that day, the kind of day that reminded you of the aftermath of a storm. The tall trees of green protected those who stood beneath them and blades of grass was their brightest hue yet. The birds sang and flew with grace as some of the most beautiful flowers of China laid withering on top of graves.

A girl stood there with her mixed family looking at the two caskets preparing to get swallowed into the ground. She didn't bother crying to show how she felt so the world can see. They were dead- they wouldn't remember they had abandoned their only child and given her to the world.

A hand came onto the girl's shoulder and urged her to go to the caskets. She did so and threw two flowers, one for each person. Then she looked around her at the people wearing their black outfits. _Why such a beautiful day but so much dread_, she wondered. Then her eyes caught someone and was surprised to see a man who looked Japanese. The girl knew half her family was Japanese but he was different somehow from all the rest. His hair was pure white and his eyes were emerald colored. His eyes had a malicious yet satisfied gleam to them. And she was drawn to them (and the muscular guy they belonged to).

"Come on, Mika," said one of her aunts. "Time to move away." Mika didn't move because their eyes met for a second before the man broke out into a sadistic grin. And then man walked away from the crowd as if telling her to follow him. She had to talk to that man, she had to meet him somehow and that was leaving her entire family behind. Instincts told her there was more than what most people who saw him thought.

Mika ran out of the area (after escaping her aunt) and followed him to where he seemed to have gone. There were trees to keep her out of sight of her family but this didn't become apparent to the naive fifteen-year-old. She walked a little farther in and passed several trees. Then she stopped moving when she heard a dead twig snap and looked back. It was a different man, one who she could tell was from around here. After all, he appeared Chinese.

"Well, who are you?" He said smoothly as he approached her.

Mika started to back away. He looked like he would try to hurt her from that glee in his eyes. And would enjoy seeing her squirm out of fear. She kept moving back until she bumped into someone much taller than she was. Her head tilted upwards to see the man she had been looking for. Instincts were yelling at her to run away while she still could but she seemed rooted to the spot. That's when the other guy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward.

"You don't have to be shy, woman," the man teased. "Just be compliant and you'll feel nothing but pleasure." Oh yeah, he was perverted enough.

"Let go of me," the girl grumbled, trying to yank herself away from the pervert. The grip only tightened and she began to start kicking. Eventually, she ended up kicking the man in the groin. The moment he let go, she started to run. But the man had managed to grab her long hair and pulled her back.

The white-haired man spoke for the first time during the fiasco. "Lin, what do you expect to gain from a girl who isn't . . . " He looked at Mika for the words to describe his point. "... fully developed yet?"

Mika was confused. She didn't know if she should be mad at the man who was hinting she was somewhat flat-chested. Or at the one named Lin for trying to assault her. Her father had always seemed to be joking when he said that she wouldn't be getting married and Mika had always laughed. But now Mika wondered if barely having boobs explained why she didn't have a boyfriend yet.

"I'm still growing!" She finally exclaimed, the only reason she had at the time. Then she felt a grip on her arm again and was pulled down onto the ground by Lin. Suddenly he was on top of her.

"Lin," the other man muttered. He looked like he was starting to feel guilty as if he was doing that to her. His voice didn't show that feeling but if you look into his eyes long enough, you could tell. Then the guy sighed. "Have your fun. Just let me know when you're done so I can . . . !" The man stopped talking. He heard footsteps and it alerted his senses. First he looked out in front of him, then to his left, then to the right, then-

"Yukishiro and Lin," said a voice behind him. It belonged to a tall Chinese man. He was dressed like all the others but something about those amethyst eyes had a glow to them. They weren't mourning nor grieving. It was something else, like he was looking for somebody in particular.

Yukishiro glared at the man over his shoulder. "Well, isn't it Chao."

"What's going on?" Chao asked, his eyes on the girl and Lin. He knew that the two men were part of the mafia. He had run into them several times, none of them pleasant. Since Yukishiro was at a funeral that he didn't belong to made it clear to him that he was responsible for Miyagi's death. No doubt he was here to clean up whatever mess he left behind or better yet, what he didn't finish.

Yukishiro grinned suddenly, but his eyes were cold. "Nothing much. We were about to leave anyway." Casting a glare at Lin, he could see the man was shocked by the order. But nonetheless, the cold glare Yukishiro was giving him made Lin get up and go to his side.

Mika got up and hid behind the man who was called Chao. He appeared to have some authority over the two. Or maybe it was something unexplainable because none of them were scared of the other. Whatever it was, she was glad that the dangerous men were leaving. Her dark blue eyes watched their backs disappear into the forest.

"Have you met that Japanese man before?" Chao asked her after Lin and Yukishiro had left. He looked down at Mika and saw she looked confused But finally she shook her head no. It was time for the second question. "And tell me- was the deceased your parents?"

She nodded. "Who is he?" She suddenly asked him.

"Isn't it obvious?" Chao frowned when she shook her head no. He sighed. "He's Yukishiro Enishi, a mafia boss. He's the one that killed your dad."

Mika was almost speechless. "What . . . do you mean . . . that he killed my father?"

Chao looked around to see if they were still around or if there were more of their organization. Yukishiro was not the type to give in so easily. He was not known for his hesitation or kindness. "The point is that he came here to make sure the job he had left no traces. Seeing how much you resemble your mother, he must have-"

"Does he know what he did? He took three lives with only one swing of his sword! He killed my father, my mother died because of that, and now what do I have to go back to?"

Chao sighed again before an idea clicked into his head. "Have you ever held a sword in your hand before?"

Mika folded her arms and gave a small rock a kick. What did that have to do with the death of her parents? They were at the funeral. But she felt the question must have some relevance because Chao didn't look stupid. "Only my father's," she finally answered, "but I never used it. I never knew how to."

"If you want, I can train you to be an assassin. Maybe then you can get revenge." Chao started to walk away from Mika. But he continued to talk to her. "Think about the offer. Only when you're sure that you can handle the blood you will see on your hands, come look for me. If you're smart, you'll remember the name Lok Chao. Don't be an idiot and forget."

-END FLASHBACK-

Mika blinked coming back to the fight. How long had it taken to remember that random memory and replay it in her head? A good bit of time for Lei had several wounds on his body but not as much as Yukishiro. Yukishiro's blood was bleeding freely and his breathing was heavier than she remembered. It worried her but a part of her felt slightly satisfied as well.

"Mika," Yan Yan said from behind and saw the look in those dark blue eyes. There weren't tears forming at all- more like contradicting decisions. "I need to talk to you outside for a moment." The two of them then walked out of the room and into the hallway where they were sure nobody would be.

Mika heard a cheer through the double doors and wanted to see who it was for. But she needed to get this conversation done with. "What is it?"

"Please tell me that you will protect Enishi." Yan Yan looked at the girl pleadingly and was frustrated when Mika turned away from her stare. Yan Yan then folded her arms and stared at Mika incredulously. "Yuan told me about what Enishi did to you in the past. It must have been painful to continue for five years without your parents but-"

"Yan Yan, don't worry about it. He had this coming." Mika wondered where did that statement came from. Only this morning she had admitted that she loved him and said she would marry him. But this whole thing was contradicting- everything seemed wrong no matter which way she looked at it when they were supposed to be right.

Yan Yan raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I can't believe you're saying this. You told Enishi that you were going to spend your whole life with him but now . . . " She began to shake her head slowly, the skepticism etched onto her face.

Mika looked Yan Yan straight in the eye and said, "Enishi shouldn't matter to me." Yep that was what the vengeful part of her had wanted to say all along.

At first Yan Yan looked stunned. But then she lost her temper and slapped Mika across the face. "Listen to yourself. Already talking crap. Let me tell you something you don't seem to know. The _past_ should mean nothing but it never does! But all you will ever have is the moment in front of you. Either you take it or you don't. And once you decide, you can't change it. So make sure you choose what you really want in the end." With that, Yan Yan opened one of the doors and went back inside.

Mika stood there thinking, resting against the wall for support. That what she needed the most at that moment- support.

* * *

Lei was grinning. He could easily smell money and death simultaneously as he delivered another blow to the shoulder. "Don't you want to give up, Yukishiro?" Seeing Yukishiro losing so much blood made him feel satisfied. But he wasn't going to let him live. He waited to long for this.

Enishi clung to his side with his free hand while the other held his Tachi tightly. He realized death was only a few moments away and that Mika wouldn't be happy about the results. If he wanted anything then, it was Mika's happiness. And he had a feeling it wouldn't be marrying Lei. If he couldn't survive the fight, he knew he had to kill the man in front of him.

Lei saw Yukishiro trying to rush him. But his movements were slower and easy to perceive. At perfect timing, Lei moved out of the way, causing Yukishiro to run passed him. Then he used the butt end of the sword to pound him in the back, causing him to fall onto the ground and coughing up some blood. His grin got even bigger as he walked to the front of Enishi's body and took a good look at his face. Using his foot, he lifted Enishi's head by the chin.

"You know what I'll do?" He said mockingly, seeing all the anger in those green eyes. "I'll cut your head off and mount it on a plaque in my room. Maybe there you could watch me fuck that whore of yours." He raised the sword and brought it crashing down.

CLANG! Metal hit metal when the jian collided with another sword that had just been thrown. It stood there in the wall and vibrated from the impact. Lei's eyes lit up with anger as he looked up to see who had threw it. His eyes caught the look in Mika's eyes. Lei figured that she must have taken it from somebody. He walked over there rather quickly and dragged Mika out into the arena.

"You've always been in the way, you ungrateful bitch," he muttered, grabbing her by the hair. He looked into her defiant eyes and it angered him more. "I'll kill you now. I'll make Yukishiro's last minutes of life a living hell."

Her eyes turned dead and all life disappeared from all the pain and confusion she had been feeling. A small laugh came out of her mouth. "Kill me. I don't care about living anymore."

Somehow, Lei turned animalistic for a second. He bared his teeth and let out an enraged growl. Still Mika didn't bother showing fear and he then changed his tactic. "How about I kill your beloved?" He didn't get a response that time and it became complete deja vu. He thought about the situation before throwing Mika in Enishi's direction. Then he threw his sword at her. "Don't kill yourself with it," he told her. "Go kill Enishi like the assassin you are. Tell him why you really came to his island, tell him what your true intentions were."

Mika's mouth opened slightly from the initiative shock. How long had he known that? Was he even serious about that? She looked back at Enishi and started to approach him, the sword dragging on the marble floor. She thought that secret could be kept from him but now it was different and she had been put on the spot.

Mika stopped several feet away from him and saw the look in his eyes. Lei was no doubt trying to break the man before he killed him. He wanted to take Enishi's whole reason for living away. Suddenly she found herself hating to be a woman. Women seemed so naive and foolish when it came to love. And she couldn't stand it. Because that how she felt- foolish and naive . . .

And in love.

Mika swallowed and forced herself to speak. "Do you remember a man you killed over five years ago? When the mafia needed money? You had decided to go to the richest home you knew in Shanghai. And had turned out it belonged to a government official."

Enishi's eyes were contemplating what she said until they widened from the realization of that day. It had been him, Lin, Heishin, and Lei who had went to the house. They had been expecting more people to be inside but there was only that one man. It had turned out that he could fight quite well and had wounded Heishin quite badly. He remembered himself saying he would kill the man and telling Lin and Lei to find any valuables. He was in good shape but he couldn't avoid his swiftness. Then there had been the funeral and the teenage girl . . .

Mika looked away from him. "I trained to learn how to be an assassin because Chao had told me if I could learn how to use any weapon properly, well, then I could avenge my parents. After four years of training, I found out your whereabouts and went to your island. The funny thing was that I was actually unconscious. Fate had it that I would get to your island only by the waves of a storm. Since the moment I woke up in that room and first laid eyes on you, I dedicated my life to killing you.

"But that changed, hasn't it? Because up till now, I couldn't kill you. All because I . . . " She looked into his eyes to avoid the words that had been troubling her. Mika could see the shock, the pain, the confusion in those green seas.

Enishi forced himself to stand up and leaned back on the wall to prevent himself from falling. "You're not joking, are you?" Lei couldn't have found a more perfect way to end someone's life. Sending the beloved to tell the opponent that they shouldn't have given them their trust or affection.

The tears started to swell in her eyes. "I still love you, though."

That moment, he looked into her eyes and saw everything that had happened. It brought back all his emotions from when he first laid eyes on her to when they had talked for real. Then to when they were under the moonlight in the forest to when they were on the balcony. It all ended with the night before when they had made love.

Then the world around him changed into a forest filled with snow and he saw Tomoe in Mika's place and It was like fifteen years ago when his sister had died. The snow had fallen slowly and all he had in his mind was to be with his sister again. Then across the distance he saw a figure approaching Tomoe from behind. He instantly recognized the person as Hitokiri Battosai. And like before, he could only watch history repeat itself. With his sword, Himura took one slash at her turned back and blood stained the fresh snow. Enishi saw the agony in her dark _blue_ eyes as she fell to the ground.

His green eyes opened wide when he realized he wasn't in the forest but still in the fight. What had been Tomoe was then Mika and what had been the Hitokiri became Lei. Everything seemed to move in slow motion when she fell to the floor, a pained expression on her face. "Mi . . . ka?" Enishi said quietly. Somewhere in the crowd, Yan Yan let out a scream of shock and dismay.

Lin started to run over. He hadn't expected this turn of events. _"There still may be sometime to save her!" _He stopped when Lei pointed his new acquired weapon (a dao) at his throat.

"_Let her die here," _Lei ordered, _"Or you will die before she does."_

_Have I let you down too? _Enishi asked himself as walked over to the body, limping almost every step of the way. _Don't die on me. Don't you even think about it. hang in there a bit longer and let me finish this fight. And I'll join you soon, I promise._ The whole entire time, death seemed to linger in his mind.

**A/N: **I was listening to Sadness and Sorrow from Naruto while writing the last scene and I ended up crying! I know that was stupid of me but I couldn't help it! It just seemed so sad with that song in the background. To be honest though, I thought I lost all the feeling for this story and wasn't sure if I could finish it. But then I got into this again.

I have a feeling that some people may hate Lei after this chapter. Though I am an Enishi fan, I have to say I like Lei's character. No matter how many things he's responsible for, no matter how many people has suffered at his hands, no matter how manipulating he is, I still like this guy. He's one of my best developed characters.

Thanks to Deadly Diva for reviewing. I'm glad you think that Chapter 9 is the best so far. It makes me happy to know I'm improving. Also thanks to Kishofwings. I'm glad you're rooting for Enishi. I want him to win. Just don't kill me if something happens you don't want to happen. For the rest of you readers, review! It's almost the end here. Till later, anywayz.


	11. Chapter 11: Making Amends

**A/N: **Here it is– the final chapter. I am surprised that this is the end because I have never finished a story (like I mentioned before). For the future, I'm sorry Enishi suffers a lot in this chapter. I really am. And if he dies . . . well, I won't say anything anymore. So enjoy/weep/sigh.

**CHAPTER 11**

**Making Amends**

"She's taking too long," Lei commented as he looked down at Mika. His eyes watched the blood seeping through the fabric of her kimono. He lifted the sword in his hand. "I'll just end-" He stopped and saw Yukishiro glaring at him. This whole thing was amusing to him. This whole thing was incredible! The man whom he hated for years was finally showing his weakness and his mortality. Because of this, Lei smirked. "But you wouldn't want that, would you? You want to know she lives. But you see, that can't be guaranteed. Once a life is hanging by a thread as thin as hers, no matter how thick it is, it will snap."

Yukishiro knelt down by Mika's body. He felt her pulse and found it was faint yet erratic simultaneously. It was a bad sign and now that Lei had managed to cut off all possible help, she could die, she probably would die. Enishi did the only thing he could think of. He took off his shirt and placed it on top of her bloody wound. Then he applied pressure to it.

"It won't do any good," Lei commented as he watched. "_Tomoe_ didn't survive it. Why should she? But you must wonder how I know that." He had watched Yukishiro's eyes go into some other world, like he was seeing something else than what was in front of him. Then he connected it with something Xiang had once mentioned to him about Yukishiro's sister. So that was it or he believed it to be.

His green eyes had flickered at Lei when he had said his sister's name. Lei had said it so casually, so meaningless, so sarcastically. And this angered him. Enishi stood up now, hoping Mika would live to see another day.

Yukishiro ran forward and brought his sword back to have enough power for the thrust. "Watoujutsu– Kaishi To Sei!"

Lei felt the impact on the front of his shoulder. The pain then shot through that part of his body afterward. Lei back off, wrenching his shoulder free of the blade. Blood trailed down his arm to his finger tips. "Look at you," he muttered, holding his shoulder. "That took most of your energy."

Yukishiro knew that it was true by how his breathing had became raspy. He only had enough force due to the adrenaline coursing throughout his body. But that exhilarating power would soon be gone and he would be reduced to a defenseless creature. It was best to use it while the extra strength was still there.

Yukishiro tried another charged and decided to end it with one of his Watoujutsu techniques. "Watoujutsu– Shugeki To Sei!"

Lei hadn't known how lucky he was that he blocked the attack so quickly. But the force sent him stumbling backwards, his arms flailing at his sides. This made him wide open for the slash across his chest. He fell hard to the floor and saw Enishi already bringing the blade down on him. Lei quickly flipped backward and unto his feet. Then he noticed some nerves on Enishi's body. _Kyokeimyaku 'Frenzied Nerves'_, Lei thought. _Not complete, but nonetheless it's the same technique. _He decided he should use his own technique if he was going to beat this keener version of Yukishiro.

The adrenaline wasn't going to last long. The pain was already starting to come back in jolts and shocks throughout the body. Enishi believed charging was his best bet if he was going to wound Lei badly. Even if his strength gave way, he could resort to some other tactic that would hopefully come to mind sooner or now.

Lei ran toward him and his dao breezed past Enishi's face, then his arms, then his sides. Enishi didn't bother avoiding them since he could sense they were going to miss anyway. Lei thought Yukishiro might also know that he was doing it deliberately. Lei moved faster, delivering more of those "breezing" attacks to Enishi's body.

Suddenly, Yukishiro ducked low like a tiger, causing a sharp pain felt by his entire body. He had a feeling he was over doing it yet the adrenaline was still there. "Watoujutsu– Sen Ran To Sei!" The Tachi struck in an upward motion, catching Lei off guard. He had decided to ignore the pain just to keep going to end the fight himself . . . For Mika's sake. With that last thought, he did one huge mistake– he turned around to check on Mika's condition. Was she even breathing? He couldn't tell. During those brief five seconds, Lei was steady again and brought the butt end of the sword down on Enishi's head. Enishi felt the blood run down the side of his face and he was too surprised to do anything.

Lei saw the nerves going back to their normal positions under the skin and it relaxed him a bit. Back to his grinning state, he kicked Yukishiro in the ribs and he watched the body skid slightly to a stop. He swore he heard bones crack. Maybe it was just one or two. But either way, it was a good omen in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Yukishiro?" Lei called out as he watched the man struggling to get back up for Round Eleven. "I'm surprised to see you haven't died yet. Maybe trying to live for that miserable bitch is working for you. But," he added, "she _was_ the second woman you couldn't protect from death."

Enishi coughed up more blood. He didn't know why Lei kept bring up his sister whether it was by name or hint. And he hated Lei for it. He got on his feet but the adrenaline rush was gone. He still had his finishing attack. The one he had used against the Battousai. He could try it but that would probably finish the remainder of his strength and he couldn't afford to do that. "Don't talk about them," Enishi muttered as he fought his way up again.

Lei watched the man who somehow managed to get unto his two feet no matter how weak he was. He couldn't understand why Enishi refused to give in to the pain and the obvious truth. Then it hit him. It was a man trying to deny the inevitable, hoping that there was a way to win. When the thought crossed his mind, Lei cackled. He had won and he knew everyone else felt it. Even Enishi, who was still trying to fight.

Knowing that Yukishiro's reaction time was slower, Lei slash open his other side. Then he took another swing, making the wound deeper. There was more blood on this side than on the other now and Enishi gritted his teeth to prevent from screaming in pain. Lei's grin was even wider than before. Joy seemed to light up his face. "Why don't you scream? Scream while you still have life in you! Make sure everyone here knows that you're not as strong as you're credited for!" The dao cut deeper and this time Enishi did scream in agony.

_All I have left is that one move_, Enishi thought, as he stumbled away from his opponent. _I have to try it. _The dao came toward him again. _I have to. _Enishi ducked low like a tiger again but the move was different. The blade of his Tachi was parallel to his arm and the hilt faced downward. "Watoujutsu– Zetsugi Kofuku Zettou Sei!" He brought up his Tachi to slash Lei across the chest.

His eyes saw the attack but Lei hadn't expected to dodge it. It came so fast although Yukishiro was not at all at his best. The blade went up all right, cutting through his shirt but barely scratched his chest. When he didn't see any blood gushing out, Lei went back to his maniac grinning. "You missed, Yukishiro." He kicked Enishi, sending him back several feet to where Mika's body lied.

Enishi struggled to get up but was surprised to see Lei smirking at him, twirling the dao by its handle. Why was he grinning like that? Then he knew as slits, many of them, opened up all over his body and spurting blood. Enishi fell forward.

"It's over," Lei muttered, feeling relieved. And started to walk off, twirling the dao in his hand.

"What the hell was that?" Wu Lin mused out loud. He didn't understand how those slits got there. It made no sense. Lei must have been someone very incredible to do that to the skin without touching it.

Lei was walking very proudly despite the pain from his wounds. He had known there was no way Enishi would live and he now had the biggest part of the mafia. Now all there was to do was to take over the organization completely and that would be taking on absolute boss. The same one who hired him years ago, the one who had taken him in when he was a thug on the streets.

Then he felt a sword pressing against his back before it pierced his skin and came out of his chest. The blade had gone through the heart but barely. Lei looked back over his shoulder, the blood trickling down his chin. His dark eyes opened wide from the shock.

Enishi had done the job, swiftly and quickly too. His hand still held the hilt of his Tachi and his emerald eyes met Lei's dark ones. But Enishi's usually vibrant eyes were clouded meaning he was semiconscious. Yet Enishi grinned sadistically at Lei from the depths of his mind. "You're dead, aren't you?" He said and laughed. The laugh was cold and completely out of character for the man.

_SPLIT-SPLAT! _Lei growled, the blood dripping unto the floor. _No, _repeated in his mind, _I won't die like this! _In his last few moments of life he pulled out the dao and prepared to kill Yukishiro, to bring the man to hell with him. Then he saw a Japanese woman with black hair standing behind Enishi. Suddenly after that image, his vision darkened and his heartbeat slowed to nothing. The dao dropped to the floor with a clanging sound.

Enishi let go of the sword, allowing Lei's limp body to fall. And then, Enishi started to walk back to his beloved. "Mika?" Enishi called out in hopes of hearing a response but none came. He was a few feet away when he himself collapsed.

Lin was dumbstruck. He didn't know what to do anymore. Then he looked back at his subordinate Yan Yan to help the decision. Their eyes met, both unable to speak. It was Heishin that decided to take charge of the situation.

"Some people go attend to the girl!" Heishin began to order. "Yukishiro also needs medical assistance! Lin, check to see Lei is still alive!" The crowd still stood there. Heishin narrowed his eyes. "Go already!" That time, they started to move and Woo Heishin got a taste of how great power was.

* * *

Several days passed since the fight and it wasn't until then that Enishi woke up. First he took notice that the room was empty and nobody was in there. The curtains had been drawn apart to let the sunlight in and the window was opened to let a fresh breeze inside in the room. Then he noticed, how badly bandage his body was. He had bandages on his torso, his arms, and around his forehead, underneath his bangs. He even had some on his hands.

The door opened and Yan Yan walked in with a tray of food. Lin, who had came along with her, stood in the doorway watching. "I wasn't sure if you would be up this time," she said, "But I was willing to bring you food anyway. So how are your injuries?"

Something clicked within Enishi's mind again. "Where's Mika?" Her voice ran through his mind. _Promise you won't hurt me . . . Promise me at least that much._

Lin sighed and looked up as if trying to see the sky through the ceiling. "They say that the dead find happiness in whatever the afterlife brings them," Lin said from the doorway. "Miyagi was . . . a special woman indeed. I'm pretty sure she's happy where she is."

Yan Yan looked at Lin horrified. Enishi, on the other hand, sat up to examine Lin's face more closely. His eyes narrowed. "I'm serious, Lin. Where is she?"

Lin laughed and walked into the room. His smiling eyes never left Enishi's. "What make you sure she's alive and not dead, Yukishiro?"

Enishi grinned when the first idea popped into his head. "Because she's a stubborn bitch." Then he saw Mika walked into the room, looking upset . . . and happy.

Mika fought back her tears. She was happy to see him up and awake. That he was still able to piss her off. She moved aside to let Lin and Yan Yan walk out. Their privacy was sealed when the door closed behind the two. Mika walked to Enishi's bed and looked at him. "I guess if I'm a bitch, you're a fool, right?"

"Something like–" Enishi found himself wrapped in Mika's arms, his head against her chest. The sound of her crying woke him up to realized that she had been worried about him. The strong woman she had always tried to portray was gone.

"Idiot," Mika muttered, allowing her hand to run through his hair. "You stupid idiot."

He waited for Mika to calm down a bit in his arms. When she finally did, he spoke to her gently so she wouldn't go back to tears. "What are you going do now?" He asked her, knowing the possible answers to the question. The only thing he worried about was Mika going away and that he would lose her.

Mika's embrace tightened a little and she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the newly forming tears from falling. "It depends," she answered, "on if you want me to stay here." She then let go of Enishi and sat down on the bed next to him. "Do you?" Her serene dark blue eyes met his.

Enishi held her hand in his. "I want you to stay," he admitted.

Mika looked down at their joined hands. So this was how love was supposed to feel. She realized she was willing to give anything to be with this man and no more secrets could get in the way. She wanted to hear some kind of promise even if it wasn't straightforward, even if the words couldn't form right away. But she'd give it time. "And we'll spend the rest of our lives together?" She gazed into deep pools of emerald.

"Yeah," he said, giving her hand a squeeze of assurance. "We will." And with that, he sealed his promise with a kiss.

**A/N**: Oh my god! It's done! Yes, I know that the ending was kind of bad but give me some credit here. At first, I was considering whether Mika, Enishi, or both of them should die. But then I couldn't bring myself entirely to do that. Enishi had enough torture in this chapter and a little in the previous one. And this is a romance, not a tragedy and definitely not _Romeo & Juliet. _I have to admit I wanted Lei to live (I know, I'm evil) but Enishi had to win in my opinion. By the way Kishofwings, thanks for reviewing. The review is much appreciated. Other peoples, review! This is the last chapter of the story and I would really be happy to know your opinions. So leave a review please!

Besides all that, the new RuroKen Fanfic I am planning to write focuses on Xiang. It will probably be rated M and not T because of some content it's probably going to have. The plot might still need some work because I want to have action. I can't just write about romance all the time- I wouldn't think straight. It will be called _The Chains of Love. _See, Xiang goes back to her old ways in attempts to get over Enishi and to never fall for another guy. But then she runs into my favorite freeloader, Sagara Sanosuke and the chains rattle in the background, ready to catch her once again. Well if you want to check it out because you're a fan of Sano or you like this story or it sounds interesting, it should be up in one or two weeks. So for now, Sapphirina is signing off.


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